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The European Union acknowledged on Saturday there was a “global shortage” of production capacity for COVID vaccines and said it was “ready to help” increase them, according to European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. Indirectly, the European Commissioner responded to the head of BioNTech, which, together with Pfizer, produces the only authorized vaccine in the EU. He had criticized the European Commission’s vaccination strategy, warning that there would be syncope in the supply, as production capacity was insufficient to “fill the gap” in the absence of other licensed vaccines on the European market.
The start of vaccinations has been criticized throughout Europe, especially in France, where the slowness of the process is alarming, but also in Germany, where some doctors have lamented that hospital personnel are not given priority due to lack of sufficient doses. Delays in the distribution of the vaccine have caused consternation in Germany, where several regions have been forced to suspend vaccination a few days after launch.
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only one authorized in the EU so far
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the European Union, but its authorization relatively late by the specialized agency of the EU and the quantity of vaccine requested by the European Commission, which has concluded contracts with manufacturers of vaccines on behalf of Member States: leading to a slow pace of supply.
After initially ordering 200 million doses of the vaccine developed by the American company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech in November, the EU has exercised an option to buy an additional 100 million doses by 2021.
The vaccination campaign began the last weekend of 2020 in the 27 countries of the EU, after the authorization of this vaccine by Brussels at the end of December, also being the first authorized in the EU.
Dissatisfaction of the BioNTech manager
A few days ago, the head of the German company BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, criticized the decision of the European Commission to conclude contracts with several pharmaceutical companies in the hope that their vaccines would be approved quickly, which did not happen. “Many other companies are supposed to come with the vaccine. Apparently this was the impression that we would have enough, that it would not be too bad and that we were in control. This surprised me,” Sahin said.
He warned there could be syncope in the supply until other vaccines are licensed and said BioNTech is looking for solutions with its US partner Pfizer to increase vaccine production.
“Things are not looking good at the moment, there is a gap because there are no other approved vaccines and we have to fill the gap with our vaccine,” he explained. Mirror CEO of BioNTech, Ugur Sahin. He and his wife, Oezlem Tuereci, the company’s chief medical officer, founded the company in Germany, which partnered with the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer to produce the COVID-19 vaccine.
Brussels response
“At the moment, these difficulties are not explained by the volume of orders, but by the global insufficiency of production capacities. This is the case of BioNTech ”, responded the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, in an interview with the German agency dpa, quoted by Agerpres.
“The EU has provided 100 million euros of BioNTech financing in advance to develop its production capacity. The situation will improve little by little,” said Stella Kyriakides. “We are ready again to help increase production capacity,” he added.
BioNTech wants to increase its production in Europe
BioNTech plans to launch a new production facility in Marburg, Germany, in February, capable of delivering an additional 250 million doses in the first half of 2021, it said to Mirror BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin. This German plant will reinforce production at the Belgian plant in Puurs, where batches of vaccines are currently manufactured for the EU.
BioNTech has also indicated that it has signed contracts with five pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe to increase production. Negotiations with other specialized companies continue, BioNTech said.
Who else has the European Union contracted with?
In addition to Pfizer-BioNTech, the EU has five other contracts with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-GSK, Moderna and CureVac, and plans to sign one with Novavax.
“Other manufacturers with whom we have signed contracts are about to see their vaccines approved by the EU,” said Stella Kyriakides.
“We have agreed in the EU not to put all eggs in one basket. If all these vaccines in development are approved, the EU will have more than 2 billion doses available to 450 million Europeans and their neighbors,” he said.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
