Novartis inks deal to help Pfizer-BioNTech ramp up output of Covid-19 vaccine

Switzerland's Novartis AG has inked a deal with Pfizer-BioNTech aimed at boosting the world's output of Covid-19 vaccines.

The Swiss group will take delivery of the active ingredient used in the vaccine and fill it into vials.

Details of the exact quantities involved were not forthcoming, but Novartis head of technical operations, Steffen Lang, said the firm expected this to be "the first of a number of such agreements".

Production was scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2021 with deliveries set to follow three months afterwards.

Similarly, German outfit Merck KGaA was looking at ways to help Pfizer and BioNTech to ramp up production, including helping to 'fill-and-finish' vaccine vials.