BioNTech Starts
Production at New Covid Vaccine Plant in Germany
By Naomi Kresge
February 10, 2021, 8:29 AM GMT
The BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine production facility in
Marburg, Germany.
BioNTech SE started production at a new Covid-19 vaccine
factory in Germany, moving closer to its goal of boosting output in Europe by
some 750 million doses a year.
The first batch produced at the site in Marburg, north of
Frankfurt, enough for 8 million doses, is scheduled for distribution in early
April, BioNTech said in a statement.
It takes only a few days to produce messenger RNA, the key
ingredient in the vaccine developed by BioNTech with partner Pfizer Inc. But
the test batch made this week will need to be purified, concentrated, mixed
with lipids and taken to another site to be put into vials. The product will
also need to clear the European Medicines Agency’s quality controls before it
can be shipped to customers.
The Marburg factory is a key piece of a plan by BioNTech and
Pfizer to boost production of their shot to 2 billion doses this year. Pressure
is mounting on vaccine makers to produce more, in particular as the European
Union moves more slowly on vaccinations than the U.S. or U.K.
BioNTech bought the Marburg site from Swiss pharma giant
Novartis AG last year and plans to use it to supply the world outside the U.S.
the plant is on track to produce as many as 250 million doses of Covid vaccine
in the first half of this year, BioNTech said.
Meanwhile, a Pfizer factory in Puurs, Belgium, that had
slowed production due to renovations is also back to full capacity.
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