BioNTech raises 2021 Pfizer COVID vaccine target to 2.5bn doses

BioNTech, a German biotech company, says it will produce 2.5 billion doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

The company made the announcement in its full-year 2020 financial results and corporate update released on Tuesday.

The German company had partnered Pfizer to produce one of the leading vaccines against COVID-19.

On December 31, the World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.

It is the first vaccine granted emergency use authorisation by the WHO, and according to Pfizer and BioNTech, it is said to be 90 percent effective.

The company said the new target represents an increase of about one quarter from its earlier estimate.

It said the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has been approved and authorised for emergency use in over 65 countries.

“More than 200 million doses of BNT162b2 supplied as of March 23, 2021, with signed orders for 1.4 billion doses to date for delivery in 2021. BioNTech and Pfizer expect to expand manufacturing capacity to up to 2.5 billion doses by end of 2021,” the company said.

BioNTech said it expects 9.8 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in revenue from the supply contracts already signed, which amount to 1.4 billion doses.

Ugur Sahin, BioNTech chief executive officer, was quoted in an interview as saying the demand for the vaccine is on the rise.

He said BioNTech and Pfizer will produce 2.5 billion doses this year, but added that there is room for increased production.

“We are seeing an increased demand. At the moment we have prepared ourselves to produce 2.5 billion doses, but in principle there is room for further increase,” he said.

TheCable had reported that Onyema Ogbuagu, a Nigerian-American researcher and medical doctor who led Pfizer vaccine research, said the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine “will be the final nail in the coffin” of COVID.

COVID-19 vaccines are currently being deployed in countries across the globe.

On March 2, Nigeria received its first batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.