Germany-based biotechnology firm BioNTech could help boost the German economy with its success with the Covid-19 vaccine, media reports said. BioNTech could possibly boost Europe’s largest economy by 0.5 percent points this year. The German economy is expected to grow by 3.7 percent this year.
BioNTech and US-based drug manufacturer Pfizer have signed contracts to deliver around 2.2 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine this year and more than 1 billion doses in 2022. BioNTech’s largest plant in Marburg, Germany, has a manufacturing capacity of 1 billion doses per year.
BioNTech also raised its forecast for this year’s Covid-19 vaccine sales to €15.9 billion. Previously, it forecasted revenue to be around €12.4 billion.
BioNTech also wants to eradicate malaria by using the revolutionary mRNA technology, the same technology was used to develop the vaccine for the Covid-19 virus.
BioNTech has revealed that it will begin clinical malaria vaccine trials by the end of 2022. Malaria kills around 400,000 people each year, many of them being African children.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said in a statement, “We will do whatever it takes to develop a safe and effective mRNA-based malaria vaccine that will prevent the disease, reduce mortality and ensure a sustainable solution for the African continent and other regions affected by this disease.”
The breakthrough project is being backed by the World Health Organization, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Union.