Zurich:
Swiss drugmaker Novartis has signed an initial agreement to provide manufacturing capacity for Pfizer and Biontech’s COVID-19 vaccine, a move aimed at assisting enhance production as supplies fall shy of demand.
Subject to reaching a final agreement, Novartis plans to commence production in the second quarter of 2021, the Basel-based organization stated on Friday, adding it would use manufacturing facilities at its website in Stein, Switzerland, close to the Rhine River on the German border.
Three vaccines from Western corporations Pfizer-Biontech, AstraZeneca and Moderna have been authorized by regulators, but restricted production and delayed deliveries have hampered efforts to promptly vaccinate individuals most at threat for COVID-19.
Novartis’s announcement that it was joining the push to remedy the shortfall follows a move by Sanofi this week to work with Biontech to provide 125 million doses of its mRNA vaccine to the European Union.
“Novartis has been mobilizing on multiple fronts to support the global pandemic response,” stated Steffen Lang, head of Novartis Technical Operations.
Novartis, which did not give specifics on how considerably drug substance it would create for Pfizer-Biontech if the deal goes by way of, added it is in “advanced discussions” with extra corporations to take on production of mRNA, therapeutic protein and other raw components for vaccines and therapeutics.
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