Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) CEO Kare Schultz has told "Reuters" that the Israeli pharmaceutical company is in talks with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to co-produce their vaccine.
He said, "We do have some discussions with originators of the original vaccines. We have not come to any conclusion."
He added, "In principle, we are positive towards contributing by manufacturing some of those vaccines that either have been approved or are just about to be approved."
Schultz told "Reuters" that Teva both approached and was approached by vaccine makers but he declined to name the companies with which it is negotiating.
He also spoke about the matter to "Bloomberg," telling them that Teva has offered to dedicate its manufacturing capacity in the US, Europe and elsewhere to aid with mass-immunization efforts geared at combating the pandemic.
He said, "We have a large, worldwide network of manufacturing capabilities, from creating the underlying drug substance to putting the solution into sterile vials, known as the fill-finish process. There are a limited number of facilities that can do this kind of manufacturing, and it takes time to build them."
Teva is already an integral part of Israel's Covid-19 vaccination rollout, which has seen 3.61 million people vaccinated, including 2.22 million people who have already received a second jab. Teva's SLE unit is responsible for the logistics and distribution of the Pfizer vaccine in Israel, which must be kept at -70°C before use.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 10, 2021
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