AstraZeneca announces first investment in Vietnam's manufacturing sector

AstraZeneca invests an additional VND2 trillion ($90 million) in Vietnam

This announcement was made at a ceremony on November 2 in the presence of Vietnam’s high-level delegation, led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his visit to Glasgow, where he attends COP26.

This investment, which is the first of its kind, will be made between 2022 and 2030 and will enable the production of three AstraZeneca medicines in Vietnam.

Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca CEO gave a speech at the meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister

Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca CEO said, “It was an honour to meet the Vietnamese Prime Minister to conclude several critical agreements which will bring significant benefits to patients. By establishing a local AstraZeneca manufacturing presence in Vietnam for the first time, patients will be able to access treatments to meet important medical needs. Through our new supply agreements, people will continue to receive critical access to our COVID-19 vaccine and our first long-acting antibody.”

Under the Ministry of Health’s guidance, AstraZeneca will appoint a Vietnamese contract manufacturing partner and then transfer the necessary technology and knowledge to support their ability to manufacture AstraZeneca’s medicines for non-communicable diseases, ensuring high-quality products in line with AstraZeneca’s global standards.

Nitin Kapoor, chairman and general director at AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets, said, “Vietnam will be the first Southeast Asian country where AstraZeneca will manufacture key medicines for the treatment of non-communicable diseases. We are proud of this milestone as a feature in our 27 years of active collaboration with the Vietnamese government, in addition to new agreements signed for the 2022 provision of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment.”

The investment revealed today complements AstraZeneca’s ongoing VND5 trillion ($220 million) involvement in Vietnam for the 2020-2024 period, which was announced during Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to AstraZeneca’s manufacturing site in Sweden in 2019.

On the same day, AstraZeneca and Vietnam Vaccine JSC signed an agreement for the delivery of an additional 25 million doses of vaccines, as well as 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination candidate, AZD7442, for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The LAAB is designed for people with weakened immune systems who may not respond adequately to vaccination.