Scientists fear shortages because other vaccines are not approved, prompting Pfizer-BioNTech to fill the gap.
BioNTech is working with partner Pfizer to boost production of their COVID-19 vaccine, the founders said, warning that there will be gaps until other vaccines are rolled out.
The German biotech launch led the vaccination race, but the shot was slow to arrive in the European Union due to the relatively slow approval of the bloc’s health regulator and the small size of the order placed by Brussels.
The delays caused uproar in Germany, where some regions had to temporarily close vaccination centers days after the December 27 vaccination.
“At the moment it does not look good – there is a gap because other approved vaccines are missing and we have to fill the gap with our own vaccine,” Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel said. .
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to remove a shot from Moderna on January 6.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has urged the EMA to also quickly approve a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca that cleared Britain this week. The EU timeline for treatment remains uncertain.
Sahin said the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, which uses a messenger RNA to target the human immune system to fight the coronavirus, could handle a virus first detected in Britain and become more contagious. lyk.
“We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralize this variant and will know more soon,” he said.
Asked about dealing with a strong mutation, he said it is possible to adjust the vaccine within six weeks, although such new treatments require additional regulatory approvals.
New production line planned
Sahin founded BioNTech with his wife, Oezlem Tuereci, who is the medical head of the company. Both criticized the EU’s decision to distribute orders in the expectation that more vaccines would be approved soon.
The United States ordered 600 million doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine in July, while the EU waited until November to make half an order as large.
“At some point, it became clear that it would not be as fast as possible to deliver,” Tuereci told Spiegel. “Then it was too late to place follow-up orders.”
BioNTech hopes to launch a new production line in Marburg, Germany, in February that could deliver 250 million doses in the first half of the year, Sahin said.
Talks are underway with contract manufacturers to increase production, and there should be more clarity by the end of January, he added.
Sahin also said that BioNTech will make its vaccination, which requires about 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit), easier to handle.
A next-generation vaccine that lasts at higher temperatures may be ready by late summer.