Bayer examines entry into vaccine production

Bayer examines entry into vaccine production

The pharmaceutical company Bayer is considering starting the production of corona vaccines. "We are discussing with Curevac and also with politicians and the authorities what can be done," Bayer boss Werner Baumann told "Welt am Sonntag". "With our production network in Germany and the USA and the corresponding lead time, we would in principle be able to produce vaccine in larger quantities. We are currently testing this under high pressure." It is not primarily about financial considerations, but about making the vaccine available as soon as possible. "We are ready to pull out all the stops for this," said Bayer. The primary consideration is whether to extend the agreement concluded with Curevac to production. At the beginning of the month Bayer and the Tübingen biotech company Curevac signed a cooperation and service agreement. Curevac has been developing the corona vaccine CVnCoV for a long time, for which the approval-relevant clinical phase III study began in mid-December. Curevac expects the first results towards the end of March. In the event of approval, the EU Commission has secured 405 million doses for the EU states. Bayer should now take part in the necessary study for approval work and also keep an eye on the supply chains. The contract does not include the fact that the group will also take over production. In addition, Curevac remains the holder of a marketing authorization. Bayer would, however, have the option of becoming a holder of the approval in certain markets outside Europe. According to a report by the Robert Koch Institute on Saturday, a good one million people in Germany have received the first of two corona vaccine doses since the vaccination campaign began at the end of December. In order to achieve so-called herd immunity against the novel coronavirus, it is estimated that more than 60 percent of the population would have to be vaccinated.