Scientists fear the shortage because other vaccines are not approved, leaving Pfizer-BioNTech to fill the gap.
BioNTech is working with partner Pfizer to increase production of COVID-19, its founders said, warning that there will be supply gaps until more vaccines are launched.
The German biotech startup led the vaccine race, but its blow was delayed in reaching the European Union due to the relatively slow approval of the bloc’s health regulator and the small size of the order placed by Brussels.
The delays have caused dismay in Germany, where some regions have been forced to temporarily close vaccination centers a few days after an inoculation attempt was launched on 27 December.
“It’s not looking good right now – a hole is popping up because other approved vaccines are missing and we need to fill the gap with our own vaccine,” Ugur Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, told the German weekly Der Spiegel in an interview.
A blow from Moderna is expected to be eliminated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on 6 January.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has asked the EMA to also quickly approve a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which the UK eliminated this week. The EU timeline for this treatment remains uncertain.
Sahin said the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to train the human immune system to fight the coronavirus, should be able to cope with a variant first detected in the UK that appears to be more contagious.
“We are testing whether our vaccine can neutralize this variant and we will find out more soon,” he said.
Asked about coping with a strong mutation, he said it would be possible to change the vaccine as needed within six weeks – although such new treatments may require additional regulatory approvals.
New planned production line
Sahin founded BioNTech with his wife, Oezlem Tuereci, who is the company’s chief physician. Both criticized the EU’s decision to spread orders pending more vaccines to be approved quickly.
The United States ordered 600 million doses of BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine in July, while the EU waited until November to place a half-size order.
“At one point it became clear that it would not be possible to deliver so quickly,” Tuereci told Spiegel. “By then it was too late to place tracking orders.”
BioNTech hopes to launch a new production line in Marburg, Germany, in February, which could produce 250 million doses in the first half of the year, Sahin said.
He is in talks with contract producers to increase production and there should be more clarity by the end of January.
Sahin also said that BioNTech will make its vaccine, which requires storage at about minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit), easier to handle.
A next-generation vaccine that would be kept at higher temperatures could be ready by the end of summer.