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Photo: Sascha Schuermann / Getty Images
The precious commodity cannot be seen from the outside.
Only when you have passed the barrier to the factory in Halle-Künsebeck, Westphalia, do you see the white containers, secured by massive concrete barriers that are supposed to prevent cars from entering.
This is how employees who work in the plant describe it.
The containers serve as intermediate storage for BNT162b2, the mRNA vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer against Covid-19.
Trade name: Comirnaty.
In this Baxter plant, cancer drugs roll off the assembly line.
As early as the summer of 2020, it became clear that the facility should also help with vaccine production.
According to the plan, 166,600 vials should leave the factory within a day and a half.
Provided that enough active ingredient is delivered.
The complexity of manufacturing is underestimated
An important manufacturing step takes place in Halle: sterile filling.
A system from the mechanical engineering company Seidenader had to be purchased that detects contamination in the ampoules.
Cooling systems have been installed and test runs have been carried out since December.
According to the internal plan, production should start on February 5th.
Baxter did not want to comment on the production or its whereabouts.
Details are also politically significant.
Biontech speaks of a test run for process validation.
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