Pfizer has announced plans to invest $120m in its manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US, to produce its Covid-19 oral drug, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332] tablets and ritonavir tablets).
The new investment will help in expanding the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and registered starting materials (RSMs) production.
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They are used to produce the novel main protease (Mpro) inhibitor, nirmatrelvir.
This expansion will create more than 250 new manufacturing jobs at the Kalamazoo facility.
Pfizer stated that the expansion of API and RSMs production for nirmatrelvir will allow it to increase the Paxlovid supply capacity to meet the worldwide demand.
The company has shipped 12 million Paxlovid courses across 37 countries, including five million shipped to the US, till date.
Pfizer chief global supply officer Mike McDermott said: “The Kalamazoo 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.”
In Kalamazoo, the company is also planning to expand its Modular Aseptic Processing (MAP) sterile injectable pharmaceutical production site.
The latest expansion follows a $450m investment in phase one to build a 400,000ft2 production plant.
In January this year, Pfizer received Health Canada authorisation for its cocktail of two antiviral drugs, nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, to treat adult patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19.
Paxlovid, the combination therapy, is intended for the treatment of individuals who are at increased risk of disease progression, including hospital admission or death.
