Manufacturers of the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine are “turning every stone” to sharpen production capacity as Europe continues to suffer from a shortage of vaccine supplies.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, BioNTech co-founder and chief medical officer Özlem Türeci said the company is “constantly re-evaluating how the target we have already set can perform even better.”
Despite certain limitations, such as the fact that they can not train people very quickly, the company focuses on finding partners who provide a supplement to the large amount of network of the vaccine.
The company is also kept busy by the constant need to test the robustness of their vaccine against new variants of the virus.
Based on their analysis, it was found that the current vaccine is effective against the variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom, and the variant that was first detected in South Africa.
Many resources are aimed at ‘being prepared for tomorrow if there is such a source of concern: the processes by which we can adapt to a new variant’, Türeci added.
According to Türeci, the company uses its ‘fast and adaptable’ mRNA platform to exchange the old sequence for that of the new variant. Blueprint clinical trials with which the company discusses the switch in advance with regulators are also used.
Although emerging variants are something that BioNTech “should take seriously”, Türeci told CNN that there is currently no reason to fear. ‘
Türeci also talked about how a “gender-balanced team is one of the most important success factors” in BioNTech’s work, which in particular increases the company’s problem-solving ability.
‘As scientists we are used – especially because we have always worked on technological innovation – we are used to solving problems and unknowns in real time. And it was a force that helped us in this way. ‘
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has been praised around the world for its high efficacy, with a peer-reviewed study in Israel showing an efficacy rate of 94% to prevent asymptomatic Covid-19.
Last week, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that real-world evidence from the Israeli Ministry of Health shows that its efficacy was at least 97% two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine to prevent symptomatic diseases, hospitalizations, and death. The analysis also found that the effectiveness of the vaccine was 94% in preventing asymptomatic Covid-19, where infections show no symptoms.
“When we started our development in January last year, our goal was to make a difference for people worldwide and to end this pandemic,” said Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, said in the announcement. “One year after the declaration of a pandemic by the WHO, we now see that we are on track to achieve our goals.”
Watch CNN’s exclusive interview: