Novartis said March 4 that it will help manufacture CureVac's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
CureVac's two-dose mRNA vaccine is in late-stage testing, and the drugmaker said results could come as soon as next month, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Novartis said it plans to upgrade a plant in Austria to help make up to 50 million doses of the vaccine this year, as well as up to 200 million doses in 2022. It said it expects to begin manufacturing the vaccine in the second quarter of this year.
CureVac aims to make up to 300 million doses this year, according to the Journal. The Germany-based drugmaker began its late-stage trial of the vaccine candidate in December, enrolling about 37,000 people.
GlaxoSmithKline has also agreed to make up to 100 million doses of CureVac's vaccine this year, and Bayer has been assisting CureVac with the development of the vaccine, according to the Journal.
Novartis is also helping Pfizer and BioNTech perform fill-finish for their vaccine, the last step in which vaccine vials are filled and capped, the Journal reported.
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