In a ground-breaking ceremony, dignitaries from the UAE, Serbia and China marked the commencement of construction of a new local vaccine manufacturing plant in Belgrade on Wednesday. The inaugural ceremony of the vaccine manufacturing plant has taken place in line with the strategic MoU signed between Group42, Sinopharm CNBG and Republic of Serbia in July 2021. The MoU is aimed at collaborating efforts to boost vaccine production in order to protect Serbian people and community across the wider region against COVID-19.

This collaboration is facilitated by a joint venture between Group42 and Sinopharm CNBG under the name "Hayat Biotech". Launched in the UAE, the joint venture is aimed at strengthening the life sciences ecosystem by boosting clinical research and medical R&D to develop new drugs and vaccines. It is already manufacturing the Hayat-Vax COVID-19 vaccine in the UAE. The joint venture has partnered with the Republic of Serbia to set up the new vaccine manufacturing plant in the country to support the health sector's efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic and any future outbreaks.

The Belgrade ceremony took place in the presence of Serbian President Aleksander Vucic; Group42 CEP Peng Xiao; Sinopharm CNBG Vice President Yang Huichuan; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala and Board Member of Group42, among other high-level delegates.

The plant will have the capacity to produce 36 million vaccine doses on a yearly basis in order to provide necessary medical support to people in need.

Addressing the ceremony, Serbian President Vucic expressed proud in joining efforts with Emirati and Chinese partners to address challenges of regional and global interest.

"Serbia will have one of the most modern vaccine factories. I am proud that we have tried to solve some of the regional and world problems together with our Chinese and Emirati partners," he said.

On his part, Khaldoon Al Mubarak CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala and Board Member of Group42, lauded the ceremony as a significant step towards achieving greater good for the community by building global partnerships and investment relationships around shared challenges and opportunities.

"This new alliance will foster knowledge and capabilities sharing, and enable all of us to further strengthen our expertise in the healthcare domain, with the prospect of future-proofing the health of our nations," said Peng Xiao, Group42 CEO.

WAM