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Scientists fear shortages because other vaccines are not approved, leaving Pfizer-BioNTech to fill the void.
BioNTech is working hard with partner Pfizer to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine, its founders said, warning there would be gaps in supply until more vaccines are launched .
The German biotech start-up led the vaccine race but its shot was slow to reach the European Union due to the bloc’s health regulator’s relatively slow approval and the small size of the order placed by Brussels.
The delays caused consternation in Germany, where some regions had to temporarily close vaccination centers days after the launch of a vaccination campaign on December 27.
“At the moment, it doesn’t look good – a hole is showing because there is a lack of other approved vaccines and we have to fill the void with our own vaccine,” said BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin. , to the German weekly Der Spiegel in an interview.
A Moderna shot is expected to be cleared by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on January 6.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn urged the EMA to also quickly approve a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca that Britain approved this week. The EU timetable for this treatment remains uncertain.
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 variant first detected in Britain that appears to be more contagious.
“We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralize this variant, and we will know more soon,” he said.
Asked how to deal with a strong mutation, he said it would be possible to adjust the vaccine as needed within six weeks – although these new treatments may require additional regulatory approvals.
New production line planned
Sahin founded BioNTech with his wife, Oezlem Tuereci, who is the company’s medical director. Both criticized the EU’s decision to distribute orders in the hope that more vaccines would be approved quickly.
The United States ordered 600 million doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine in July, while the EU waited until November to place an order half that size.
“At one point it became clear that it wouldn’t be possible to deliver that quickly,” Tuereci told Spiegel. “By then it was already too late to place any follow-up orders.”
BioNTech hopes to launch a new production line in Marburg, Germany in February that could produce 250 million doses in the first half of the year, Sahin said.
Discussions are underway with subcontractors to increase production and there should be more clarity by the end of January, he added.
Sahin also said that BioNTech will make its vaccine, which requires storage at around minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit), easier to handle.
A next-generation vaccine that can be stored at higher temperatures could be ready by the end of the summer.
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