Pfizer is increasing its 2021 production goal from 1.3 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to 2 billion.
The news of ramped-up manufacture of the life-saving vaccine was announced by Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and CEO, during a call Tuesday, Jan. 12, open to investors and the general public.
The new production goal comes at time when the U.S. is still experiencing more than 200,000 new daily cases and vaccine distribution has been slower than expected.
As of Tuesday, 25,480,725 doses of the vaccine had been distributed across the nation. Originally, government officials aimed to vaccinate 20 million by the end of 2020.
Both the U.S. and the European Union have approved the Pfizer product. Both governments doubled their supply from the original contracts, EU has secured 600 million doses and the U.S. purchased 200 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30, with the balance of the 100 million doses to be delivered no later than July 31, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Increased production of the vaccine includes a label change instructing six doses to be produced in each vile instead of five. A new syringe is also being implemented to avoid any liquid being left in the needle and wasted.
Bourla assured stakeholders during the call Tuesday that increased production would happen, but noted production at that level was a challenge all its own.
“We say what we mean and we mean what we say,” Bourla said. “We feel confident that we will be able to do that. It’s almost equally difficult to the scale up manufacturing at that level so fast as it was to develop the vaccine.”
The coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech is now the fastest produced vaccine in history, far surpassing the mumps vaccine that was developed in four years and distributed to the public in 1977.
BioNTech’s head start in mRNA vaccines, which have seen results in animals with influenza, Zika and rabies virus, was a huge advantage.
The mRNA technology is a new approach to vaccines. Rather than a vaccine putting a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies, a mRNA vaccine teaches cells how to make a protein to trigger the immune response needed to fight a virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When asked if mRNA technology will be used in the future at Pfizer, Bourla said it is a must moving forward. He spoke of using it to keep up with variants for influenzas so that the flu vaccine could keep pace.
“Within the year, we accumulated scientific knowledge and technology and know-how years ahead,” Bourla said. “We have developed infrastructure that normally would take years, we developed in months. It’s time to use it for the betterment of humanity.”
Related: How Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was produced and distributed from Michigan plant in record time
Pfizer’s Michigan site, which manufactures more than 150 products, can trace its local roots back to the Upjohn Company, founded in 1886 by William E. Upjohn, known as “Kalamazoo’s First Citizen.” After Upjohn merged with Sweden-based Pharmacia in 1995, Pfizer acquired the company in 2003.
In July 2019, Pfizer announced it will split off its Upjohn generic brands and merge them with Mylan. In November 2020, that transaction was complete.
Bourla said the separation of Pfizer from Upjohn has created a company more focused on U.S. culture and science. He said the development of the vaccine is a shining example of what Pfizer is capable.
“This requires very different mentality, very different risk taking, very different culture,” Bourla said. “I couldn’t think of a better start of this new journey for Pfizer then with a demonstration of what our scientific (community) can do.”
In relation to the company’s interest in U.S. culture, Bourla was asked what part Pfizer will play in lowering prescription drug costs. Bourla said he was looking forward to working with the incoming presidential administration and the U.S. Congress on healthcare reform and lowering out-of-pocket costs for individuals.
“We need to have a vibrant, innovative biopharmaceutical industry and I don’t think I need to explain why after what happened with COVID,” he said. “The pain of not having it will not be multiple but exponentially higher. All these breakthroughs don’t do any good if they don’t reach the patient.”
More on MLive:
Pfizer’s vaccine works against extra-contagious COVID-19 mutations, study shows
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Who’s eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and what else to know about program expansion
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January 13, 2021 at 03:15AM
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Pfizer ramps up vaccine production to 2 billion doses for 2021 - MLive.com
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