Coronavirus
New Covid-19 vaccine production developments in Germany
Months after the first vaccines were granted approval, Germany continues to play a major role as a production location: with companies entering new alliances and expanding capacities.
Apr 19, 2021
Dermopharm to produce BioNTech vaccine
Allergopharm’s site in Reinbek near Hamburg is going to join the group of locations where BioNTech and Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine is manufactured. The company is part of the Dermapharm holding, whose production of the vaccine in Brehna has been ongoing since October 2020. The exact production capacity of the new site has not been published, but local media reports that it will exceed that of the first facility.
IDT Biologika partners with Johnson & Johnson
Vaccine developer IDT Biologika, who announced a future capacity increase in February following an agreement with AstraZeneca, has found another partner. Starting in April, the company is going to start filling and packaging Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine at its Dessau site. The early manufacturing operations start – just weeks after the agreement – was made possible thanks to an understanding with another of the company’s clients, Japanese pharma giant Takeda. Production capacities, which were scheduled for Takeda’s dengue vaccine, will be assigned to the manufacturing of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for three months before resuming dengue vaccine production.
Sputnik V production in Illertissen
Sputnik V, a vector vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, has not yet received EU approval, but production plans are already in place. Russian pharmaceutical company R-pharm plans to produce the serum at its facility in Illertissen, where it also plans to produce AstraZeneca's vaccine by summer 2021. The facility could produce millions of doses per months, which – subject to regulatory approval – could also become part of Bavaria's vaccination campaign.
Germany an attractive location for vaccine production
With its strong pharma industry, Germany is an attractive location for vaccine production. Moderna Therapeutics, seeking to increase manufacturing capacity for its mRNA vaccine, is currently in contact with the German government about a potential new facility in Germany. The German chemicals manufacturer Wacker Chemie is similarly considering investing in mRNA production capacities. An expansion of the company's facility in Nünchritz is under consideration to support Wacker's production of vaccine for the German biotech CureVac.
