Swiss firm Lonza to help produce anti-Covid nasal spray in the US
As part of its agreement with American company Altimmune, Lonza will allocate a dedicated manufacturing facility for AdCOVID nasal spray vaccine near Houston, Texas.
On Friday, Altimmune announced the specific role the Swiss company will play in the rollout of the AdCOVID nasal spray. Lonza was named as a manufacturing partner last November.
“By expanding our Lonza collaboration and commissioning our own dedicated manufacturing suite, we are building extra capacity and redundancy into our manufacturing to support potential late-stage clinical trials with AdCOVID and potential future commercial supply,” said Vyjayanthi Krishnan, vice president of product development at Altimmune.
AdCOVID has started phase 1 clinical trials and the results are expected in the second quarter of 2021. If successfully commercialised, AdCOVID could offer “simplicity of nasal administration, potential ease of deployment and storage, and the potential to block viral transmission”, according to Altimmune CEO Vipin Garg.
Lonza sees potential in the vaccine candidate that claims to provide immunity for a year or more with a single dose and does not need specialised freezer storage.
“Altimmune’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate could be a complete game-changer in the fight against Covid-19. Our reinforced commitment is to enable the team at Altimmune to scale-up production as needed and deliver vaccines at a global scale when ready,” said Alberto Santagostino, senior vice president for Lonza.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
This content was published on
Novartis has signed an initial deal to produce the mRNA molecules for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by German biotech firm CureVac.
Calls intensify for Big Pharma to break monopolies on Covid-19 vaccines
This content was published on
Pressure is mounting to suspend intellectual property rules to help vaccines reach more people. Can the WTO find a solution?
Swiss factory rushes to prepare for Moderna Covid-19 vaccine
This content was published on
Workers are racing to set up production lines at the Lonza factory in Visp to be able to start making a vaccine for US firm Moderna later this year.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.