Exelead, Inc., a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing complex medicines to customers and their patients, delivered its first vaccine precursor batch manufactured at its facility, as part of an agreement with Pfizer for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In its recently expanded, state-of-the-art facilities, Exelead is supporting production of the vaccine by dedicating a portion of its manufacturing capacity to this effort.
 
“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 John Rigg, CEO, Exelead. “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, vice president, Pfizer Global Supply, said, “We are excited to partner with Exelead on the manufacture of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. The support Pfizer, and our partner BioNTech, receive from our contract manufacturer partners is one of several ways we’ve ramped up our manufacturing capabilities to produce more doses of our COVID-19 vaccine.”
 
As a specialist in manufacturing pharmaceuticals, including lipid nanoparticles, Exelead is leveraging its expertise within the space to support vaccine delivery.  Through this agreement with Pfizer, Exelead anticipates adding up to 50 new jobs.
 
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is based on BioNTech proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the EU, and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalent in the U.S. (jointly with Pfizer), UK, Canada and other countries in advance of a planned application for full marketing authorizations in these countries.