Video—Ryan Riboldi explains role of new Sanofi facility planning 70M flu shots in U.S.

As it ramps up flu vaccine production, Sanofi Pasteur has opened a new quality testing facility at its Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, campus. A $65 million investment, the building will play an important role in testing tens of millions of flu vaccine doses each year, with additional capabilities to test other current and future vaccines. The company plans to ship 70 million flu shot doses to the U.S. market this year.

"It signifies growth," Ryan Riboldi, associate vice president of quality operations at Sanofi Pasteur US, told FiercePharma in an interview at the site. "As a worldwide leader in flu, our flu market is continuing to expand and our ability to test our vaccines as quickly as we can to get them to the people that need them becomes vitally important."

Flu vaccines spend 70% of their life cycle in quality testing, according to Riboldi, undergoing about 240 tests throughout the production process. The facility opened in May 2017 and is one of dozens of buildings at Sanofi's Swiftwater site.