Pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced on Monday that it will produce the coronavirus vaccine that the German company CureVac is developing from 2022.
“I am delighted to announce that we have the capacity to produce the CureVac vaccine based on mRNA,” Bayer Pharmaceuticals Manager Stefan Oelrich told reporters, adding that the company’s goal is to produce 160 million doses in the first 12 months.
“There is still a need for greater availability of vaccines,” added Oelrich.
These capabilities will contribute to CureVac’s existing network production of 300 million doses this year and 1 billion by 2022, explains Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of CureVac, whose vaccine project is currently in phase 3 clinical trials.
It is currently “in the certification process,” said Health Minister Jens Spahn at the same press conference.
The minister indicated that ensuring the long-term production of the vaccine is important with a view to possible changes or the need for a second vaccination within one or more years.
Bayer and the CureVac laboratory, located in Tübingen, announced a partnership in January to accelerate development of vaccines.