Brazil gov’t invests in new Fiocruz vaccine factory

A new vaccine factory of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) will be built in Rio de Janeiro and should increase the production of supplies to feed the entire country. Investments will total R$3.4 billion, with 5 thousand direct jobs created during the construction, in addition to 1.5 thousand job posts for plant operations, according to estimates.

Fiocruz may boost its capacity to produce vaccines and biopharmaceuticals by four, chiefly in order to meet the demands of Brazil’s public hospitals. The donation of the complex site was signed Thursday (Dec. 3) at a meeting held at the Guanabara Palace and attended by Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello (pictured above) and Governor Cláudio Castro.

The Industrial Complex of Health Biotechnology (CIBS) will be built in the Industrial District of Santa Cruz, in western Rio de Janeiro, in a territory of 580 thousand square meters. The enterprise is likely to be Latin America’s biggest center for the production of biologicals, and one of the world’s most modern.

Works are expected to be over in 2023. Thus far, the site has received investments from the federal government for stages preceding the construction of the complex, like the earthworks and construction staking of all buildings to be erected.

“Brazil will have a major strategic center to bolter the National Immunizations Program (PNI), which is the world’s biggest program of immunizations. It is a source of pride to us all,” the health minister declared.

Undertaking

The output capacity of the complex has been estimated at 120 million flasks of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals a year, and may be expanded depending on the regime of operations adopted.

At first, the complex should encompass nine buildings, two of which for formulation and flasking, the remainder for packaging, storage of raw materials and finished products, quality control, general utilities, and waste treatment. The site also has areas reserved for future expansions.

The project is sustainable and will include solar panels, reservoirs for catching rainwater and water reuse. In the early stages, over 30 thousand trees were planted, which will form a green belt of Atlantic Forest to preserve local biodiversity.