January: To aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, an initial agreement with Pfizer-BioNtech was signed to provide manufacturing capacity to support the production of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at the Novartis site in Stein, Switzerland.
March: Novartis announces an initial agreement to manufacture the mRNA and bulk drug product for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV from CureVac in a new high-tech production facility at the Novartis site in Kundl, Austria.
April: Novartis signs an initial agreement with Roche to reserve capacity and implement the technology transfer for the production of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for Roche’s treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, which is also being tested in various clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy in COVID-19 associated pneumonia.
“Novartis has been mobilizing on multiple fronts to support the global pandemic response,” said Steffen Lang, Head of Novartis Technical Operations. “As a company reimagining medicine with advanced therapy platforms, we are committed to leverage our manufacturing capabilities to help support the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics around the world.”
