Sanofi → Nobel AFF

Why this matters

Sanofi and Nobel AFF, the Kazakhstan manufacturing arm of Turkish pharmaceutical group Nobel İlaç, have signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding to develop local vaccine production in Kazakhstan. The memorandum covers the local packaging and production of certain Sanofi vaccines and is meant to prepare the regulatory and technical groundwork. It was signed by Selçuk Tanrıverdi, Chairman of Nobel İlaç and General Manager of Nobel AFF, and Stephen Alix, President of Sanofi International Vaccines. The deal was reported on 26 October 2026.

Kazakhstan is pushing hard on pharmaceutical localization, with a series of government investment agreements this year and a target of raising domestic production's share of the market. Vaccines are a natural next step because the state is the dominant buyer. For Sanofi, the memorandum offers a local partner that already holds a GMP certificate. For Nobel, it adds a vaccines line to an existing contract-manufacturing relationship with big pharma.