BRIEF—Merck KGaA to help boost vaccine production

Germany’s Merck KGaA has agreed to significantly increase production of urgently needed lipids for BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty.

Merck is one of only a few companies able to produce custom lipids - critical to the drug delivery system of mRNA therapies - in large quantities.

The company will aim to boost deliveries by the end of the year.

Chief executive Stefan Oschmann said: “Extraordinary times like these require bold steps, and we are ready to take these steps to tackle one of the biggest challenges of humanity.”