A box containing vials of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. — AFP photo
BANGKOK (April 28): Biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca and its global manufacturing partners including Siam Bioscience Co. Ltd (Siam Bioscience) are committed to maintain the highest safety and quality standards of their COVID-19 vaccine.
Country President, AstraZeneca (Thailand) Ltd, James Teague said each batch of the vaccine undergoes more than 60 different quality control tests during its journey from manufacture to vaccination.
“The process takes time, and it is designed to assure every person who is given the vaccine that it is of the same high quality that can be expected from any AstraZeneca product,” he said in a statement.
Siam Bioscience, the only biopharmaceuticals manufacturer in Thailand that produces COVID-19 vaccine for eight Southeast Asia countries, is scheduled to produce its first batch of vaccine to the Thailand Government in June of this year.
The plant has passed the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), a system ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards. The company’s plants also achieved multiple international standards such as ISO9001, ISO17025, and ISO13485.
AstraZeneca together with Siam Bioscience, have been working tirelessly to ensure that the facility is on track to safely deliver supply to support the national vaccination campaign.
Teague said Thailand will play a central role to support our neighbours in Southeast Asia to combat COVID-19.
“We all have the same objective, to get effective vaccines to everybody as quickly as possible but safely. At the core of everything we do is the health and well-being of the Thai people.
“Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes our COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca,” he said.
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been granted a conditional marketing authorization for emergency use in more than 70 countries, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing now accelerating the pathway to access in up to 142 countries through the COVAX Facility.
Meanwhile, Bangkok Post reported that samples of AstraZeneca vaccine licensed to be produced by Siam Bioscience have passed the standard set by Department of Medical Sciences (DMS).
Its director-general Dr Supakit Sirilak said the samples of five models of the vaccine, which had been tested for consistency in production were presented to the department for approval.
“The vaccine passed the full tests for requirements such as chemical composition and safety. The results of the analysis of the vaccine’s quality will be cited in support of having the vaccine mass-produced by Siam Bioscience,” he said. – Bernama
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