Biontech is expanding its capacities for the production of a vaccine against the Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 binding. As the company announced on Thursday it will take over a production facility of the Swiss group Novartis in Marburg, Germany with a staff of 300, and therefore its capacity to up to 750 million doses per year increase. The plant was fully equipped, said Biontech-chief financial officer Sierk Poetting in a video conference: “We can move in and start to produce the vaccine,” However, is missing for Messenger RNA, on the Biontechs vaccine is based, yet the manufacturer the permission of the country authorities.
A price for the work of the financial not want to call the chief. On the question of why Biontech won’t let Novartis to produce, replied Poetting, it is good if one “has the full control and full access”. In addition, Biontech will use the plant for the production of other potential products, such as in Oncology. “We have a great Pipeline.”
Biontech has already works at the company’s headquarters in Mainz as well as in Idar-Oberstein. The US Partner Pfizer has manufacturing facilities in the United States and Belgium. So far, the capacity was estimated at 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. By Marburg, it is likely to rise “a few Hundred”, so Poetting.
Alone in the first half of the year 2021 should be made in Marburg up to 250 million doses of the vaccine BNT 162b2. Biontech has already signed contracts of delivery, such as with the USA, Japan and EU. This year, Biontech wool manufacture up to 100 million doses, of which a part will go to the USA and Europe. The vaccine is not yet approved. He is in clinical Phase 3. “We expect that we will have at the end of October/beginning of November and efficacy data,” says Ugur Sahin, Biontech co-founder and Chairman of the Board. If these are positive, it is to be applied for the approval immediately in the US and the EU.
So far, worldwide 29 000 subjects had been recruited, said Sahin. Overall, it should be 44 000. The Tests were done mainly at sites with a “high Infection”, for example, in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, but also in Germany. Turkey and South Africa are expected to follow. In the study, patients with HIV or Hepatitis should be included disease.
In the clinical Phase, further vaccine candidates from Biontech, are Sahin explained. “We assume that Covid-19 will accompany us also in the next years, unfortunately.” Therefore, Biontech wool is put on a development programme that in the next few years, new vaccine candidates provides.
