Supply Chain

THIS PAGE IS OUT OF DATE.

How long to make?

See an earlier blog post on how long to switch strains. The Wikipedia article on Pfizer manufacturing also contains information on how long each step takes. This article talks a little about why you can’t just turn on more production with the flick of a switch.

Vaccine production locations

I started keeping track of where vaccines were made to better understand supply chain issues. (For example, if Belgium has a general strike or Texas freezes, how will that impact production?)

For more information on the vaccine supply chain, see this outstanding article.

Pfizer

Different plants for different steps

French firm Delpharm eventually(?)

Moderna

mRNA for clinical trials was made in-house at Norwood, Massachusetts

This article (2021-08-10) says that Moderna is going to open a factory in Canada, sometime, somewhere.

AstraZeneca

Contracted to:

Johnson&Johnson AKA Janssen

By Emergent BioSolutions in Baltimore (two plants) and the Netherlands

Sanofi to help Janssen in Marcy L’Etoile, France

Merck to help Janssen in the US, one plant doing fill-finish and one making serum.

Somewhere in India. Also Biological E Ltd in India, which is a major manufacturer of low-cost drugs.

Fill-finish in the US is currently being done by Grand River Aseptic, with plants in Michigan, and Catalent, at a plant in Bloomington, Indiana.

In Italy, Catalent also is helping Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca manufacture their vaccines.

Canada has approved J&J factories in both the US and Europe, but it’s not clear at this point which factories we’ll get the vax from.

Novavax

Novavax had real trouble with manufacturing, eventually licensing to Serum Institute of India.

This article (2021-02-21) said there are plans to make Novavax at a new government-owned factory in Montreal, but this article (2022-01-07) says that production has been delayed.

Here’s an article on Novavax’ partnerships and manufacturing.

Providence Therapeutics (mRNA)

Sanofi

  • Toronto (coming online in 2021)
  • ~75 other plants

CureVac

Sinovac

Medicago

The Medicago web site (2022-02-24) says they have a factory in Durham, North Carolina and are also building a factory in Quebec that will be much bigger.

VIDO-InterVac

This article says that the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization is building a factory with government help to make 40M doses of vax per eyar.