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Biden to promise world 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine image courtesy of Wikipedia

President Joe Biden has struck a deal with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) to provide 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to roughly 100 countries over two years.

Biden will announce the plan in the near future at an appearance with Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, according to a report from The New York Times.

As COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continue to fall, Biden has faced growing pressure to provide vaccine doses to regions continuing to battle surges in infections.

When boarding Air Force One, Biden confirmed that his administration was making progress with its global vaccine strategy. While hinting at a forthcoming news announcement, he did not offer further information.

Biden has promised to provide 80 million vaccine doses by the end of June.

The U.S. will pay for the COVID-19 doses at cost, according to The New York…

Exelead makes first precursor batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Pharma industry contract manufacturer Exelead recently announced that it has delivered its first precursor batch of Prizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, produced at its recently expanded facility in Indianapolis.

Exelead plans to add 50 jobs to help it meet COVID-19 vaccine demand.

“We are extremely proud to be part of the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, knowing our work has the potential to help millions of people,” said Exelead CEO John Rigg said in a news release. “As a leader in complex drug manufacturing, Exelead is committed to leveraging our manufacturing capabilities and years of experience to help support the supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and increase the number of doses available.”

Kevin Nepveux, VP of Pfizer Global Supply, added that contract manufacturer support is one way the pharmaceutical giant has ramped up manufacturing capabilities to produce more COVID-19 vaccine doses.

EU allows Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be stored at higher temperatures

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine image courtesy of Wikipedia

Pfizer and BioNTech announced today that European authorities approved storage of their COVID-19 vaccine at a new temperature.

Based on data showing stability in standard pharmaceutical freezers, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved storage of the vaccine at -25°C to -15°C for a total of two weeks. The FDA’s requirements include two-week storage at the same temperatures, with preferred storage set in an ultra-low temperature freezer between -80ºC to -60ºC.

As a result of the approval, vials of the vaccine can be stored in all 27 European Union (EU) member states at the updated temperatures as an alternative to the ultra-low requirements, offering flexibility to distribution and inoculation, according to a news release.

“From the beginning our goal was to make our vaccine broadly available to people around the world. This approval…

Pfizer exec reportedly says COVID-19 vaccine pricing is a ‘signficant opportunity’ post-pandemic

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine image courtesy of Wikipedia

Pfizer CFO & EVP of supply chain Frank D’Amelio has said there could be an opportunity to potentially hike up prices on its COVID-19 vaccine in a post-pandemic state.

Speaking last week at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference, D’Amelio revealed that the company is considering what will become of the vaccine situation, especially involving pricing, once the pandemic is in the past but shots may still be required.

“What we believe — what I believe — is as we move from … a pandemic situation to an endemic situation normal market forces, normal market conditions will start to kick in,” D’Amelio said, according to a transcript of the presentation from SeekingAlpha. “And factors like efficacy, booster ability, clinical utility will basically become very important and we view that as quite frankly a signifi…

EU secures four million additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

The European Commission has announced that it has secured four million more COVID-19 vaccine doses than it had expected to be delivered over the next two weeks.

The vaccines will help E.U. “tackle coronavirus hotspots,” “facilitate free border movement” and fight COVID-19 variants.

The E.U. has been involved in a recent vaccine-related tussle with the U.K., with European Council President Charles Michel accusing the U.K. of blocking vaccine exports to the Continent. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refuted that claim.

The U.K. has outpaced the E.U. in vaccine administration, having administered vaccines to more than a third of its population while the E.U. has done so for 9.5%.

Several regions in Europe have seen infection rates and hospitalizations tick up recently, including Tyrol in Austria, Nice and Moselle in France, Bolzano in Italy and some parts of Bavaria and Saxony in Germany.