As agreed by Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi and more

Some of the world's largest drug companies are joining forces with rivals to help produce Covid-19 vaccines , forging unusual alliances that promise to substantially increase supplies by this summer.

Normally, large pharmaceutical companies compete to sell drugs. The desperate need for Covid-19 vaccines, however, is turning the industry's fierce competitors into quick pandemic friends, writes the WSJ .

Sanofi recently agreed to help make a vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech after Sanofi's experimental Covid-19 vaccine suffered a five-month setback, freeing up a production line in Frankfurt.

" We are looking to contribute, " said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of vaccines for Sanofi, who will begin making a crucial step in making 125 million doses in June.

Novartis also agreed to help Pfizer and BioNTech make more doses, while Baxter International and Endo International agreed to help Novavax Inc. make its injection.

The first supplies were limited, as vaccine manufacturers needed time to increase production and overcome the first hitches and problems to obtain the raw materials.

The companies are supplying enough doses in the US in February to vaccinate 20 million people, but production is expected to increase to 65 million people in June, according to analysts from Evercore ISI.

Overcoming rivalries can be the easiest part of tie-ups, as partners must quickly learn the complex vaccine manufacturing process and install the necessary equipment.

Transferring the know-how to make mRNA vaccines, such as those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna is particularly challenging because the technology is new, manufacturing experts say. Particularly difficult is increasing the production of the fat envelopes that help protect the molecules that carry mRNA vaccines to their cell targets.

“It's building everything from scratch, and it takes a while to get it up and running,” said Jim Robinson, a manufacturing consultant who previously worked at Sanofi and Merck & Co.

So far, only Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are licensed in the United States, although Johnson & Johnson's vaccine may be approved as early as this week.

Manufacturing alliances are the latest example of industry rivals coming together to fight the pandemic, starting with research ties.

They build on a year-long effort by the pharmaceutical industry and partners to increase the abilities to do everything from small vials that contain the shots to the raw ingredients that make them.

The partnerships are bringing together companies that prior to the pandemic filed patents, advertised competitors and deployed sales representatives to secure sales of their medicines.
Pfizer, which has cancer drugs that compete with products from Sanofi and Novartis, and BioNTech have brought in partners to help nearly double its 2021 production target to 2 billion doses.

"We are continually examining everything to try to create more than 2 billion doses," Pfizer Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio said in an interview.

Production cannot start overnight. Vaccine production is a complex process that often requires training staff, upgrading facilities, and purchasing new equipment, such as stainless steel pumps, tubes and bioreactors. Regulators must sign before production begins.

Sanofi will perform fill-finish, a familiar step in the vaccine process, where vials are filled with vaccines, capped, and prepared for shipping, Mr. Triomphe said. He added that the company has six months to prioritize its Covid-19 vaccine.

Sanofi still had to buy machines to accommodate Pfizer's vials, because Sanofi uses several for their vaccines, as well as freezers to store at sub-zero temperatures.

“All of these elements are very different when you go from manufacturing one product to another,” said Mr. Triomphe. Sanofi said Monday he would also help with the fill-finish for Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

Novartis has also signed up to do fill-finishing work for Pfizer and BioNTech, and the Swiss Novartis facility is scheduled to deliver doses as early as July, said Steffen Lang, who oversees the company's manufacturing and supply operations.

Lang said the company is making changes to the plant's production line, hiring more workers and moving production of other products to make room.

Novartis is talking to companies to help with the first steps in mRNA vaccine manufacturing that are more difficult to scale, Mr. Lang said. He declined to specify the companies.

Both AstraZeneca which has a licensed vaccine in the UK and several other countries, and Moderna have signed agreements with contractors to make their vaccines.

AstraZeneca, which says it will double production of its Covid-19 vaccine in April despite some recent production problems, continues to look for ways to expand production. The company recently said it will increase supply through an existing partnership with Germany's IDT Biologika GmbH.

Novavax, which has a vaccine in the late stages of development, does not own a manufacturing plant and must rely on other companies to produce the vaccine.

Baxter said last month that one of its plants in Germany will help fill and finish Novavax's vaccine.

Likewise, Endo has agreed to do similar work at the urging of the US government, said Robert Polke, who oversees the company's manufacturing.

Endo only had to make minimal upgrades to its Rochester, Michigan facility, which makes sterile injectable products and had extra space.

“It's like you have the car, but you need to put some new tires in the back and a new air filter in the engine,” said Mr. Polke.

Other companies may follow. Merck, a pioneer in vaccines, is in discussions with companies about lending its expertise after abandoning two Covid-19 vaccine programs with lackluster results. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is holding similar discussions.

(Extract from the press review of Eprcomunicazione )