Bilthoven Biologicals visited by Dutch Minister Kuipers and Indian Minister Khuba 

Last week the Dutch Minister of Health, Ernst Kuipers and the Indian Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, New & Renewable Energy, Bhagwanth Khuba, made a visit to Bilthoven Biologicals (BBio) to view the progress made on the Pandemic Preparedness program. This program was awarded to BBio last June by the European Commission aiming to ensure EU vaccine manufacturing capacities for future public health emergencies.  

Within the Pandemic Preparedness program BBio will create an ‘ever-warm’ vaccine manufacturing facility to supply viral vector vaccine doses in times of health crisis. The Indian parent company of BBio, Serum Institute of India has immense expertise with manufacturing of viral vector vaccines and will support as lead implementation partner.  

Minister Ernst Kuipers and Minister Bhagwanth Khuba came to visit the progress made on this prestigious project that intertwines expertise from this Indian and Dutch collaboration. Since the start of the project an existing manufacturing site at Bilthoven has been completely stripped and rebuild will start soon. In June 2024 a new production Drug Substance plant and a new filling line will be fully operational to manufacture viral vector vaccines during a new potential pandemic. 

About BBio 

BBio is a Netherlands-based end-to-end vaccine manufacturer of viral and bacterial vaccines. The company has a long-standing track record in supplying vaccines to European markets and global health partners such as UNICEF, PAHO and WHO/GAVI. With the manufacturing of polio vaccines, BBio is key contributor to the worldwide program to eradicate polio. BBio is also acting as contract manufacturer of vaccines used as cancer treatment, which is registered and supplied to the European market for the treatment of bladder cancer. 

BBio is a carve-out of the former Netherlands Vaccine Institute and was acquired by Serum Institute of India in 2012 and employs a little over 500 people. BBio is covering the full vaccine manufacturing value chain with its facilities in Bilthoven on Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven.