UPDATE: Sanofi-Aventis to invest 100 million euros in new Chinese flu vaccine facility

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis has reached agreement with the Chinese authorities for its Sanofi Pasteur unit to build a facility for the production of influenza vaccine in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. The project was announced by Sanofi's chief executive, Gerard Le Fur, during an official ceremony attended by China's President, Hu Jintao, and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, for the latter's state visit.

Sanofi Pasteur is planning to start construction of this manufacturing plant in 2008, with the goal of making seasonal flu vaccines for the Chinese market by 2012. There have been various reports as to the size of the investment, but a spokesman for Sanofi confirmed to the Marketletter that it will be around 100.0 million euros ($148.4 million) and produce 25 million doses a year.

The company already operates a facility in Shenzhen, and the new plant will be designed for easy expansion to keep pace with the anticipated growth of the Chinese vaccine market, the estimated value of which is around 480.0 million euros, according to Sanofi Pasteur International's president, Jacques Cholat, speaking at a press conference in Beijing.