BioNTech opens the doors of its Marburg production plant

Record ID: 1608922

  • Title: BioNTech opens the doors of its Marburg production plant
  • Date: 30th March 2021
  • Summary: MARBURG, GERMANY (MARCH 27, 2021) (REUTERS - EMBARGOED UNTIL 31st MARCH 00.01) TWO EMPLOYEES CARRY CONCENTRATED mRNA SOLUTION OF CORONA VACCINE COMIRNATY (BNT162B2) TO A TRANSPORT TROLLEY EMPLOYEE POURS SUBSTANCES TOGETHER FOR THE BIOREACTOR BIONTECH LOGO ON THE GLASS DOOR (SOUNDBITE)(German) VALESKA SCHILLING, PRODUCTION MANAGER BIONTECH MARBURG, SAYING: "The EMA approval in such a short time makes us incredibly proud, me and the whole team that works here 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. It shows that all the companies that work with us also support us tremendously, that we were able to achieve this in such a short time. This includes of course the suppliers, but also family and friends who encourage us every day to do what we do." EMPLOYEE AT THE BIOREACTOR WHO DOES THE PROCESS OF IN-VITRO-TRANSCRIPTION, TRANSLATING A DNA TEMPLATE INTO CONCENTRATED mRNA, MISCELLANEOUS SETTINGS (SOUNDBITE)(German) VALESKA SCHILLING, PRODUCTION MANAGER BIONTECH MARBURG, SAYING: "In Marburg we manufacture the active ingredient by means of in-vitro transcription. This means that it is a transcription, a copying of the DNA into the mRNA. The mRNA is the active ingredient of this vaccine and is then packaged here in lipid nanoparticles because mRNA is a very fragile structure. Once it has been packaged, the solution is sent on to the filling site. There it is filled into vials and from there it is sent to the vaccination centers. ") EMPLOYEES WORKING ON BIOREACTOR, VARIOUS SETTINGS (SOUNDBITE)(German) VALESKA SCHILLING, PRODUCTION MANAGER BIONTECH MARBURG, SAYING: "You have to imagine that a tremendous amount has now been done in an incredibly short time, an incredible amount has been achieved. A process has been transferred here, a product, the production plant has been partially rebuilt and that all in five months. Those are incredibly short periods of time. If you take a look now, everything is already finished and exactly as it should be - then the time is too short. That means there are still parts, which are not yet fully qualified or in operation. They still have to be put into operation and then the plant can produce at full load or at full speed, if you will, 24/7. In the meantime, the part that can already produce is already in production in 24/7 mode. ") EMPLOYEES WIORKING AT BIORECTOR EMPLOYEE HANDLING LIQUIDS, THREE SETTINGS mRNA SOLUTION LIFTED ON TRANSPORT CART, TWO SETTINGS (SOUNDBITE)(German) VALESKA SCHILLING, PRODUCTION MANAGER BIONTECH MARBURG, SAYING: "So if you look at this and look at the active ingredient level, i.e. pure mRNA as the active ingredient, then 7 to 8 million doses come out for a batch. If you take the packed mRNA, i.e. what is finally sent, then you can say 750 million doses for the year. ") EXTERIOR, BIONTECH SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE "BEHRINGWERKE" PHARMA PARK ACCESS TO THE BEHRINGWERK SITE BIONTECH BUILDING ON THE SITE OF THE INDUSTRIAL PARK, VARIOUS EXTERIORS REUTERS ARCHIVE, MARBURG, January 15, 2021 BIONTECH BUILDING ON THE AREA OF THE BEHRINGWERKE INDUSTRIAL PARK, VARIOUS VIEWS FROM OUTSIDE
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2021 15:38
  • Keywords: BioNTech Coronavirus Impf marburg covid vaccination
  • Location: MARBURG, GERMANY
  • City: MARBURG, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe,Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001E69ZYVB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: BioNTech and Pfizer will boost manufacturing capacity of their COVID-19 vaccine to 2.5 billion doses by the end of 2021, BioNTech said on Tuesday, as it projected sales of nearly 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) from the product this year.
    Pfizer previously said the partners would likely produce between 2.3 billion and 2.4 billion doses in 2021.
    BioNTech cited its new facility in the German city of Marburg and an expansion of the pair's network of third-party manufacturers and suppliers as drivers of the larger volumes.
    "Additional measures and discussions with potential partners to further expand the manufacturing capacity and network are ongoing," it said in a written statement.
    As of last week more than 200 million doses of the product, known as BNT162b2 or Comirnaty, had been supplied to more than 65 countries, while signed orders for delivery in 2021 currently amount to 1.4 billion doses, said BioNTech.
    But the boost in output reflected increased demand and "discussions for additional dose commitments are ongoing", it added.
    Efforts to ramp up production at its Marburg facility, where it launched production in February after purchasing the site from Novartis last year, were making "remarkable progress", said chief executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin.
    The EU's drugs regulator last week granted BioNTech approval for the use of COVID-19 vaccines produced at the facility, which has projected annual output of 1 billion doses.
    Based on this order backlog, BioNTech said it expects 9.8 billion euros in revenues from the product this year, reflecting direct sales, sales to collaboration partners, milestone payments from partners and a share of gross profit in the partners' territories.
    That compares to sales of 270.5 million euros made from Comirnaty last year by the company, which since its 2008 inception has primarily worked on cancer treatments, and with 482.3 million in group sales last year.
    The group also said 2020 net income came in at 15.2 million euros, versus a loss of 179 million a year earlier.
    BioNTech has previously said it had a 50-50 cost and profit share agreement with Pfizer, which excludes China, and a 35% to 40% gross profit share deal with Fosun Pharma in China.
    In early February, Pfizer projected Comirnaty would contribute at least $15 billion to its 2021 group sales.
    The company is also working on a third dose of its vaccine, following the standard two-shot regimen, to prolong protection against COVID-19 caused by new variants, with additional studies planned.
    German leaders will discuss the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, after several states said they would stop giving the shot to people under the age of 60 following further reports of a rare brain blood disorder.
    The meeting follows further reports by Germany's vaccine regulator, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), of cases of blood clots known as cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT).
    Germany's vaccine committee, known as STIKO, will recommend using the Anglo-Swedish shot only in people over 60, the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported citing a draft decision by STIKO.
    PEI said it had registered 31 cases of CSVT, which resulted in nine deaths, out of some 2.7 million people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine. With the exception of two cases, all reports involved women aged between 20 and 63.
    It did not comment on the possible consequences and only said it was actively working with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). EU regulators plan to issue an updated recommendation on the AstraZeneca shot next week.
    Several German states, including Berlin and Brandenburg, as well as the city of Munich, said they would stop giving the shot to people under 60.
    State hospital groups Charite and Vivantes suspended vaccinations in female staff aged under 55, citing further cases of CSVT.
    Because use of the vaccine in Germany was initially limited to those under 65, the shot has been administered among younger women, particularly medical staff and teachers.
    Many European countries briefly stopped using the Anglo-Swedish firm's vaccine earlier this month while investigating rare cases of blood clots.
    Both the EMA and the World Health Organization said this month the benefits of AstraZeneca's vaccine outweighed the risks.
    An EMA review covering 20 million people who took the AstraZeneca shot in Britain and the European Economic Area found seven cases of blood clots in multiple blood vessels and 18 cases of CVST.
    AstraZeneca says its vaccine is safe and effective, citing extensive trial data. Millions of doses have been safely administered around the world.
    Nearly all countries have since resumed use of the vaccine. But France broke with guidance from the EMA and said on March 19 it should only be given to people aged 55 or older. France said the decision was based on evidence that the clotting affected younger people.
    Canadian Health Officials said on Monday they would stop offering AstraZeneca's shot to people under 55 and require a new analysis of the shot's benefits and risks based on age and gender.
    Some 19,000 people work at the Charite hospitals and 17,000 at Vivantes, which operates clinics as well as care homes.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register