Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is reportedly expecting to trim the time needed to produce COVID-19 vaccine batches to speed up production.
The company, which along with BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) developed one of two COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized in the U.S., is slated to cut the amount of time it takes to produce a batch of the vaccine from 110 days to an average of 60 days to increase efficiency, according to a USA Today report.
VP for operations for sterile injectables at Pfizer, Chaz Calitri, told USA Today that the company has already doubled output for the vaccine in the last month alone. The vaccine is made at three plants in the U.S., starting in Chesterfield, Mo., then going to Andover, Mass., before finishing in Kalamazoo, Mich.
According to the report, making the DNA to start the process of making the vaccine took 16 days at first but will soon take just nine or 10, all while the company maintains best manufacturing practices and complies with FDA regulations.
The company also intends to add manufacturing lines in all three of its plants to increase output along with speed, with more shifts expected to come as the effort to produce vaccines continues, USA Today reported.