PARIS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The French government will invest 200 million euros (225 million U.S. dollars) to boost domestic drug research and manufacturing capacity so as to "correct vulnerabilities" that the coronavirus crisis has exposed, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday.
The investment aims at improving research and manufacturing of medicines at home and financing projects to develop treatments and vaccines, in particular against COVID-19, said Macron during a visit to Sanofi's Marcy-L'Etoile facility near Lyon in central France.
Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical giant, said it would invest 610 million euros at two of its French sites to bolster research, development and production of vaccines.
"This investment is an extremely strong act...It is an additional production line and an exceptional factory which will make it possible to rapidly produce with much more efficient digital ways the vaccines that we need, starting with the possible vaccine which would protect from the coronavirus," Macron said.
This investment is a proof that "France must regain technological, industrial and health independence," he added.
Macron also said the government would lay out on Thursday an initiative to relocate pharmaceutical production facilities to France to reduce reliance on imports of vital equipment during times of crisis.
"Everybody saw that during this crisis some commonly used drugs were no longer produced in France and Europe. So, we must no longer just ask questions, but draw the conclusions," he said. Enditem (1 euro = 1.126 U.S. dollar)
