Should we fear a shortage of vials for future Covid-19 vaccines?
Source: L'Usine-Nouvelle - Reuters (Ludwig Burger and Matthias Blamont, with contributions from Edward Taylor; French version by Juliette Portala, edited by Blandine Hénault)
The pharmaceutical industry is working hard to find a vaccine against Covid-19.
Drug manufacturers are warning of a possible shortage of vials for filling future Covid-19 vaccines. And their rush to secure stocks could make the situation worse, some major medical equipment manufacturers have warned.
Not enough glass vials for global vaccination?
While thousands of people succumb to the pandemic every day, the pharmaceutical industry is racing to find a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, led by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization). Should R&D succeed and certain products prove effective, however, the mass production of vaccines needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus worldwide as quickly as possible is raising many concerns about managing vial supplies.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and Thomas Cueni, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), have all three said that there might not be enough glass vials available for a global vaccination campaign.
"Keeping the door open for the work that will bear fruit"
A leader in the manufacture of specialty glass for drug vials, Schott AG says it has turned down reservation requests from major pharmaceutical companies for 800 million to 1 billion glass vials holding 5 to 10 vaccine doses. Schott AG CEO Frank Heinricht explained that he did not want to commit any resources before knowing precisely which vaccines will be effective.
"We have to keep the door open for the work that will ultimately bear fruit. We refuse to be portrayed in the press as the ones who were unable to package the best vaccine," he told Reuters. Frank Heinricht acknowledges that his company's caution may have heightened fears of a potential vial shortage in the coming months. But he said he was confident that vial and syringe manufacturers would be able to meet the challenge.
Accelerating production
SGD Pharma, one of the world's largest manufacturers of molded glass for the pharmaceutical industry, said it had a public health duty and would do everything possible to avoid a shortage of glass vials. It estimates that the additional demand for vials caused by the coronavirus pandemic should not exceed 3% of underlying annual volumes.
"We trust our customers, whom we have known for many years, not to take 'speculative' positions. If, despite everything, that were to happen, we would put SGD's reputation and mission ahead of a cash advantage," said the French company's CEO, Christophe Nicoli.
A competitor of Schott AG in the borosilicate glass tubing market, alongside other manufacturers Nippon Electric Glass and Nipro, Corning Inc secured 204 million dollars in funding on 9 June to accelerate production of its vials and Covid-19 treatments. The day before, the US government had awarded 143 million dollars to SiO2 Materials Science to boost production of its vials and syringes.
One billion additional vials for Covid-19
The CEO of Schott AG, whose founder Otto Schott invented resistant borosilicate glass in the 1890s, says the pharmaceutical industry supplies around 50 billion borosilicate glass medical containers a year, including 15 to 20 billion vials. Schott AG and its peers should be able to produce one billion additional vials to support the global vaccination campaign, he stated.
"The day a vaccine is about to be approved, we will be ready, and I am convinced that not only we, but also our competitors, will be able to handle all deliveries," he added.