Pfizer – the New-York based drug maker, and an important global pharma supplier is getting ready for their biggest ever vaccine distribution campaign.
So far, no specific number has been disclosed, but rumor has it that they want to deliver up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020. For 2021, Pfizer has set a target of 1.3 billion.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer is currently one of the most promising in the world, alongside Gilead’s Remdesivir. The US government has placed an order of 100 million Pfizer doses, with the option to buy another 500 million. The European Union gave its vote of confidence by ordering 200 million doses with an additional buying option.
Pfizer is going the extra mile to make sure that its vaccine will be delivered safe and sound. To do so, in Kalamazoo, it has a converted a football field-sized land into a space capable of accommodating 350 large freezers and has signed contracts with FedEx and UPS. The planes operated by the two companies will be used to deliver the vaccines as close as possible to vaccinations centres. So far, 20 flights a day with a delivery time of three days between the distribution centre to the point of patient-use have been touted to be necessary.
Logistics are done beforehand so that when the vaccine gets the Food and Drug Administration approval it’s immediately shipped out.
Besides this vaccine, Pfizer is working with BioNTech on another potential COVID medicine already in late-stage testing. The companies hope for a final answer regarding the vaccine’s functionality by the end of October, with plans to apply for emergency use by late November.
Following the news, Pfizer stock price is trading 0.24% higher in pre-market trading.
Sources: wsj.com, finance.yahoo.com