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BERLIN – BioNTech is working closely with its partner Pfizer to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine, its founders said, warning that there will be gaps in supply until other vaccines are implemented.
The German biotech startup has led the vaccine race, but its injection has been slow to reach the European Union due to relatively late approval from the bloc’s health regulator and the small size of the order placed by Brussels.
Delays in the deployment of homegrown vaccine have caused consternation in Germany, where some regions had to suspend vaccines within days of starting an inoculation campaign.
“Right now it doesn’t look good, a hole is popping because other approved vaccines are missing and we have to fill the gap with our own vaccine,” BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin told the news weekly Spiegel.
Sahin founded BioNTech with his wife, Oezlem Tuereci, who is the company’s chief medical officer. They both criticized the EU’s decision to issue requests in the expectation that more vaccines would be approved quickly.
The United States ordered 600 million doses of BioNTech / Pfizer in July, while the EU waited until November to order half that size.
“At some point it became clear that it would not be possible to deliver that fast,” Tuereci told Spiegel. “By then it was too late to place further orders.”
After the publication of the interview, BioNTech said it was in talks with Brussels to boost production.
“We are in productive discussions with the European Commission on how to make more of our vaccine in Europe, for Europe,” said a spokeswoman.
NEW PRODUCTION
BioNTech expects to launch a new production line in Marburg, Germany, ahead of schedule in February, with the potential to produce 250 million doses in the first half of 2021, Sahin said.
Talks are also underway with contract manufacturers and there should be more clarity by the end of January, he added.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Twitter that German authorities would do everything possible to allow a quick start in Marburg.
The federal government, which has backed BioNTech with 375 million euros ($ 458 million) in funding, has resisted calls from opposition leaders to speed up production of its vaccine by issuing compulsory licenses to others. drug manufacturers.
Another Moderna vaccine is expected to be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on January 6.
Spahn has also urged the EMA to swiftly approve the Oxford University-AstraZeneca shot cleared by Britain. The EU timeline for such treatment remains uncertain.
That vaccine was approved by India’s drug regulator on Friday for emergency use, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
VIRAL VARIANT
Sahin said the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the human immune system to fight the coronavirus, should be able to cope with a new, more contagious variant first detected in Britain.
“We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralize this variant and we will know more soon,” he said.
When asked about how to deal with a strong mutation, he said it would be possible to modify the vaccine as needed within six weeks, although these new treatments might require additional regulatory approvals.
Sahin also said that BioNTech would make its vaccine, which requires storage at about minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit), easier to handle, adding that a next-generation vaccine could be ready by late summer.
