Pfizer and BioNTech could manufacture three billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccine in 2022, BioNTech’s chief executive officer Ugur Sahin told Bloomberg News yesterday.
By the end of 2021, Pfizer/BioNTech are aiming to manufacture approximately two billion doses of their vaccine globally, if all goes to plan with their continuous process improvements, expansion at current facilities and addition of new suppliers and contract manufacturers.
“In principle, we could further increase manufacturing capacity. It depends on demand, it depends on factors such as if an additional boost to vaccinations is required,” said Sahin.
“We have an order book of 1.3 billion orders, which is already fixed. We are discussing additional doses – hundreds of millions of doses as options – with government organisations,” he added.
Pfizer/BioNTech are also working on modified versions of their COVID-19 vaccine, which would address new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Pfizer/BioNTech are in ongoing discussions with regulatory authorities for a clinical study to evaluate a variant-specific vaccine, using a new construction based on the B.1.351 variant discovered in South Africa.
The companies also recently initiated a study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine.
J&J reportedly facing EU vaccine supply issues
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is reportedly facing supply issues in the EU for delivery of its one-dose COVID-19 vaccine, Reuters has reported.
An EU official told Reuters that J&J informed the European Union that it is currently experiencing supply issues that could impact its delivery commitments to the EU in the second quarter of the year.
J&J is reportedly having issues with the supply of vaccine ingredients and equipment, putting its delivery goal of supplying 55 million doses to the EU by the end of June 2021 ‘under stress’.
“Aligned with our agreement, we expect to begin supplying our commitment of 200 million doses to the European Union in the second quarter of 2021,” said J&J in a statement.
J&J’s vaccine is yet to be authorised for use in the EU, but it is gearing up to begin supplying doses as soon as it gains approval.
In February, J&J announced that it had submitted a conditional marketing authorisation application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the vaccine.
“We stand ready to begin distributing our vaccine within the European Union in the second quarter of 2021,” the company said at the time of submission.