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How one German firm is racing to ramp up Covid-19 vaccine production

Germany's BioNTech, one of the lead contenders in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, said Thursday it was buying a new manufacturing site to quickly ramp up production once its vaccine gets the green light.

Published: 17 September 2020 12:47 CEST

How one German firm is racing to ramp up Covid-19 vaccine production

Archive photo shows a lab employee in BioNTech's headquarters in Mainz. Photo: DPA

The firm said it had agree to acquire a “state-of-the-art” production facility in the western German city of Marburg from Swiss pharma giant Novartis.

“This acquisition reflects BioNTech's commitment to significantly expanding its manufacturing capacity in order to supply a potential vaccine worldwide upon authorisation or approval,” finance chief Sierk Poetting said in a statement.

READ ALSO: US secures potential coronavirus vaccine co-developed in Germany

The Marburg site will scale up BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine production capacity by up to 750 million additional doses per year, or over 60 million doses per month, “once fully operational”, the statement added.

No financial details were revealed.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the 300 Novartis staff at the site will switch to working for BioNTech.

Mainz-based BioNTech is teaming up with US behemoth Pfizer to develop a coronavirus vaccine using new technology based on mRNA, a type of genetic material never before used to make a vaccine.

They already have one vaccine candidate in the late-stage Phase 3 trial that is currently being tested on around 30,000 volunteers.

Just eight other vaccine candidates globally have reached this stage so far.

The European Union, the United States and several other countries have already announced large contracts to secure millions of doses of the possible BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine once it clears all the necessary regulatory hurdles.

READ ALSO: 'Important milestone': Germany to start first clinical tests on coronavirus vaccine

Ahead of the Marburg acquisition, BioNTech said it planned to supply up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 if its vaccine is successful, and 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.

Next year's number is now expected to be “significantly” higher, a spokeswoman told AFP.

The Marburg purchase comes just days after BioNTech received a 375-million-euro funding boost from the German government .

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Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI, the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent.

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI.

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI.

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests.

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well.

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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