GSK to shut vaccine factory in Germany, putting 641 jobs at risk

By Puyaan Singh and Bhanvi Satija

Sept 11 (Reuters) - GSK said on Friday it will be shutting down a vaccine factory in Dresden, Germany, in the summer of 2027, citing decreasing demand for traditional egg-based flu vaccines.

The closure would put 641 jobs at risk, according to German trade union Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IGBCE).

Here are more details:

• "With decreasing demand for traditional egg-based flu vaccines, meaning we have more capacity than we need, we've conducted a review of the viability of our two flu vaccines manufacturing sites in Dresden, Germany, and Ste-Foy, Canada," GSK said.

• "Following this, we have taken a difficult decision to consolidate operations at one site. We have selected the site in Canada, which can fully match anticipated future demand in a sustainable and competitive way."

• IGBCE said employees had been informed of the plans on Thursday and that both it and the plant's works council opposed the closure.

• Closing the plant could cost the eastern state of Saxony highly skilled industrial jobs and deprive Germany of important pharmaceutical manufacturing expertise, the union said.

• The Dresden facility makes flu and hepatitis shots, GSK's website showed.

• GSK will advance its mRNA-based seasonal influenza vaccine candidate to a late-stage trial this month after mid-stage data showed it generated stronger immune responses than currently approved standard- and high-dose shots in younger and older adults.

• In a separate development, Volkswagen last week announced a radical restructuring plan that could lead to 50,000 additional job cuts worldwide and the closure of major factories in Germany, including three in Saxony.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Shreya Biswas)