Vaccine Development and Manufacturing

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has started a rolling review of Vero Cell, an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences.

Moderna will double the space at its Moderna Technology Center in Norwood, MA, to transform it from a production and lab space into an industrial technology center.

Moderna has entered into an agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to supply up to 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the 92 Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment low- and middle-income countries.

Under the terms of the contract, Meissner will expand its Camarillo, Calif., manufacturing site by adding additional cleanroom manufacturing space, executing advanced inventory management systems, and adding support areas to supplement capacity.

Vaccine development is inherently challenging; however, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, innovations have been prioritized, leading to accelerated development processes.

As face masks start to come off, bio/pharma’s COVID-19 battle goes on.

Moderna’s investments will double the formulation fill/finish and drug substance manufacturing of its vaccine to up to three billion doses in 2022 at various manufacturing sites.

Avantor plans to increase its single-use manufacturing footprint by 30% and double its cleanroom space in the US and Europe.

With a $5 million grant from DARPA, DNA Script and Moderna will develop a prototype for rapid mobile manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics as part of the DARPA’s Nucleic Acids On-Demand World-Wide program.

Sanofi will perform the fill/finish of up to 200 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at its Ridgefield, NJ, facility starting in September 2021.

The decision comes from the US CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices following the evaluation of data showing a rare adverse event involving blood clots in combination with low platelet counts within approximately one to two weeks following vaccination.

Lipid production at Evonik’s Hanau, Germany, site was set up in eight weeks and met high-quality requirements, accelerating delivery time, which was originally set for mid-2021.

A FDA report cites multiple ongoing violations that undermine assurance of quality in products from this plant and the need for a continuing “pause” in production.

Post-inspection report reveals nine sanitary and process problems at Bayview, Md., facility.

Pending a completed FDA inspection, Emergent BioSolutions halts manufacture of vaccine drug substance at Maryland facility.

The additional doses are a result of the European Commission’s expanded advance purchase agreement, which brings the total number of doses delivered to the EU to 600 million.

CDC and FDA are reviewing data from reported cases of a rare type of blood clot in people that received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

In collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board, the new site will supply the Asian region and will include multiple fully digitalized modules for the production of three to four vaccines simultaneously

Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Catalent will provide Moderna with a new high-speed vial filling line until June 2023 along with inspection, labeling, cartoning, and final packaging for potential pipeline programs.

The first revision further clarifies the number of doses per vial for the vials that are already available, while the second revision allows for the availability of an additional multi-dose vial.

Following a manufacturing mix-up, J&J will extend its oversight at Emergent’s Maryland facility; AstraZeneca manufacturing to relocate.

Breakthroughs in analytics and alternatives to traditional freeze drying promise to reshape biological development and the cold chain.

The availability of materials is a critical factor when it comes to vaccine capacity.

A Phase III trial evaluating the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age showed 100% efficacy and positive antibody responses.

Set to be operational in 2026, the new facility will provide added antigen and filling capacity for Sanofi’s influenza vaccine, increasing its availability in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

EMA has approved the manufacturing of drug product for BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, at BioNTech’s manufacturing site located in Marburg, Germany.

The agency’s human medicines committee has approved new manufacturing sites for COVID-19 vaccines.

The company has entered into an agreement with the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust for the supply of 220 million doses of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for the African Union’s 55 member states beginning in the third quarter of 2021.

AstraZeneca has released the results of its primary analysis of the Phase III trial data evaluating its COVID-19 vaccine.

After releasing US Phase III trial data for AZD1222, more questions have been raised with AstraZeneca concerning potentially outdated information that could provide an incomplete view of efficacy.