French drugmaker Sanofi SA is reviewing operations at two of its vaccine-making facilities in India and plans to let go of all staff at the plants, the company told Reuters, after failing to win a UNICEF contract.
The drugmaker is offering Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to all its employees at two sites Hyderabada spokesperson for Sanofi’s India unit told Reuters in an email.
Around 800 employees could be affected by the decision, two sources familiar with it said. Case Told. The sources did not want to be named because the matter is confidential.
Sanofi India declined to comment on the number of employees Who? VRS will be offered. According to the website of the French company, it has over 5,000 employees in India.
The two plants manufacture vaccines against hepatitis B, diphtheria and tetanus, and also have packaging facilities for insulin, but demand for their products has been hit by the pandemic as other drugmakers in India and globally ramp up capacity .
While the spokesperson said, “There are no plans to sell any assets at this stage”, sources said there could be a possibility of a sale later.
The spokesperson said Sanofi plans to move packaging of insulin and related injectable devices to another site and is currently evaluating which sites will support it.
Sanofi owns the facilities through Sanofi Healthcare India Pvt Ltd, which was renamed from the former Shanta Biotechnics.
The French company acquired a full stake in Shanta Biotechnics in various phases between 2009 and 2013, with an initial acquisition of 80% stake at a valuation of ₹37.7 billion, which was approximately $800 million at the time.
However, the facilities are struggling as Sanofi failed to win a UNICEF contract to supply Shan-5, a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough. hepatitis B and influenza type b.
The vaccine came under regulatory scrutiny a decade ago for quality issues after the UN agency and the World Health Organization raised concerns.
“Notably, new drug manufacturers have established themselves and increased the overall supply capacity for both vaccines and drugs,” the spokesperson said.
“As a result, globally, Sanofi has had to adapt its strategy and portfolio to these trends.”
The company said it will continue to fulfill all its existing supply commitments to the Government of India.
The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification.
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