Pfizer’s supply chain challenges led to lower COVID-19 vaccine production target: WSJ

(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc’s supply chain challenges for its COVID-19 vaccine played a role in its decision to reduce its production target for 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Pfizer has said in recent weeks that it plans to produce 50 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year. That’s down from an earlier target of 100 million doses. Pfizer’s vaccine is based on a two-dose schedule, which means that 50 million doses are enough to inoculate 25 million people.

A spokesperson for the company told the Journal that “the intensification of the raw material supply chain has taken longer than expected.” She also cited the later-than-expected results of Pfizer’s clinical trial as the reason for the company’s lower expectations for vaccine production this year, the Journal reported.

The Journal reported that an anonymous person directly involved in the development of the Pfizer vaccine said that “some early batches of raw materials did not meet standards,” resulting in production delays.

Pfizer requested emergency clearance for its COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. regulators in November. U.S. officials have said they expect her vaccine to gain regulatory approval this month. The US government expects its first vaccine allocation to include 6.4 million doses, with more to follow.

British regulators have already authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine in this country.

Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Journal’s history.