Pfizer has announced plans to invest $120m to produce its oral treatment for COVID-19, Paxlovid, in the US, with the expansion creating more than 250 high-skilled manufacturing jobs at the company’s site in Michigan.
Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets) is an orally administered drug that should be given at the first sign of infection and is currently approved or authorised for emergency use in more than 60 countries worldwide. The investment will increase the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and registered starting materials (RSMs) used in the manufacture of nirmatrelvir.
Producing Paxlovid requires a significant amount of manufacturing capacity across all aspects of the production process, and the new investment will help Pfizer meet the global demand. The investment will also place the Michigan facility among the world’s largest producers of API, with the capacity to produce 1,200 metric tons annually.
Commenting on the investment, Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive officer, said: “By increasing production at our Michigan facility, we are both helping patients around the world and expanding important manufacturing innovation to the US.
“This investment builds upon our $5bn of investments across our manufacturing and distribution portfolio since 2017 to support the ongoing growth of US manufacturing leadership.”
To date, Pfizer has manufactured almost 17 million treatment courses of Paxlovid in total, shipping 12 million courses to 37 countries, and 5 million courses to the US.
Results from Pfizer’s EPIC-HR study showed that, when the treatment was taken within five days of developing symptoms, adults treated with Paxlovid had an 88% reduction in COVID-19-related hospitalisations or death from any cause, compared to placebo.
Pfizer also plans on expanding its Modular Aseptic Processing (MAP) sterile injectable pharmaceutical production facility in Michigan with a phase two investment, the expansion adding to the initial $450m investment in phase one which saw the construction of a 400,000-square-foot production facility.
Mike McDermott, Pfizer’s chief global supply officer, said: “The [Michigan] facility uses some of our most innovative manufacturing technology and has been essential in Pfizer’s fight against COVID-19, producing nearly one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the site to date. Through this expansion, we will continue to invest in the next generation of manufacturing and supply chain resilience.”