Morocco Imports 1 Million Pneumonia Vaccines from China

Rabat – Chinese pharmaceutical firm Walvax Biotechnology has announced the shipment of the first one million doses of its pneumonia vaccine (PCV13) to Morocco.

The vaccine batch left Yuxi Municipality, China, on May 21 in the presence of Chinese officials from the provincial and municipal levels.

Walvax’s vaccine is the world’s second approved 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine after the American vaccine by Pfizer.

Developed in 2019, the vaccine treats 13 common infections caused by pneumonia bacteria in children aged between six weeks and five years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in November that pneumonia accounts for 14% of all deaths of children aged under 5 years old.

Commenting on the deal, Walvax Biotechnology’s Board said that the recent shipment “is a significant milestone in the cooperation between Walvax and Morocco, and a good signal for the long-term partnership to forge ahead.”

It will help supply “those in need with safe and efficacious vaccines of high quality, at an affordable price and in a sustainable manner,” the board added.

It also noted that the delivered one million doses of pneumonia vaccine are set to support Morocco’s Expanded Programme on Immunization and provide a push for the commercialization of Walvax’s vaccine in the international market.

In April 2021, Walvax and MarocVax signed an exclusive PCV13 distribution agreement for Moroccan territories. The document laid the ground for cooperation on the importation, distribution and sales of the vaccine. It also promoted technology transfer and bulk supply for localization.

Months later, in January of this year, Walvax committed to supply 2 million doses of PCV13 to Morocco in “the format of finished product and bulk drug substance.”

The Moroccan Ministry of Health further granted market authorization to the Chinese vaccine, opening the door for importing the pneumonia vaccine.

Earlier this month, the Moroccan ministry placed a purchase order for one million doses of PCV13.

The order followed the organization of the national vaccination week in Morocco from April 25 to April 30, which was organized under “vaccination, a hope for life” with the objective of raising awareness about the role of vaccines in protecting public health.

“Vaccines are essential to the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks and are the guarantors of global health security as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Morocco’s Ministry of Health stated in April.