Some of the world’s biggest drugmakers are joining forces with rivals to help produce Covid-19 vaccines, forging unusual alliances that promise to substantially increase supplies by this summer.
Normally big pharmaceutical companies compete to sell cancer, arthritis and other drugs. The desperate need for Covid-19 vaccines, however, is turning fierce industry competitors into fast pandemic friends.
Sanofi SA recently agreed to help make a vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and its partner BioNTech SE after Sanofi’s experimental Covid-19 shot suffered a five-month setback, freeing up a production line in Frankfurt.
“We were looking to contribute,” said Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president for vaccines for Sanofi, which will start in June performing a crucial final step to make 125 million doses.
Novartis AG also agreed to help Pfizer and BioNTech produce more doses, while Baxter International Inc. and Endo International PLC have agreed to help Novavax Inc. produce its shot.
