BioNTech makes a deal with Novartis

Following an agreement with Novartis for a production site in Germany, BioNTech has improved its vaccine production volume in advance of the expected filing of its coronavirus shot in October.

The agreement will boost the manufacturing volume of BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine by up to sev-en hundred and fifty million doses annually, once the site in Germany is fully operational.

BioNTech has emphasised that in the first six months of 2021 it plans to produce up to two hundred and fifty million doses of its Pfizer-associated BNT162b2 injection at the Novartis site.

BioNTech and Pfizer announced early positive results from their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine programme in July, with two of the candidates, BNT162b1 and BNT162b, showing encouraging dose-dependent immunogenicity.

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, BioNTech, Sierk Poetting, stated: “We are work-ing closely with Novartis to prepare for a smooth transition and we look forward to welcoming the new members of our team and tapping into their impressive skills and expertise. From a strategic standpoint, the new site will bolster our vertically integrated business model with in-house manu-facturing capabilities for mRNA manufacturing as well as vaccine formulation.”