Saidal negotiates purchase of vaccine production line in Germany, ministry says

Ouacim Kouidri, Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry, held talks with German company Syntegon in Germany on Wednesday to finalise the purchase of a vaccine production line for Saidal.

Algérie Eco reported this, citing a ministry statement carried by the Algeria Press Service (APS). The meeting took place during Kouidri's working visit to Germany. He led a delegation that included the director general of the public group Saidal and other senior managers.

The talks covered several points about the project. These included the delivery schedule for the line and its industrial capacity.

The project is part of a vision set by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to strengthen national health sovereignty. The aim, as the statement gives it, is to supply the national market with locally made vaccines. These would cover all vaccines on the national vaccination schedule, through an integrated production process.

The new line would also serve as an industrial base for agreements reached with major international vaccine makers. These agreements aim to set up integrated manufacturing with a full production cycle, and they include technology transfer to Saidal.

At the end of his visit, Kouidri viewed the latest manufacturing equipment made by Syntegon. The equipment uses advanced technology and runs fully automatically, without human intervention.

Saidal's ambitions go beyond national needs. The group aims to export vaccines to African countries through supply programmes of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).