Swiss firm Lonza to help produce anti-Covid nasal spray in the US
Lonza is setting up an antibody production line in Switzerland where part of the Moderna vaccine will be produced.
Keystone / Olivier Maire
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.
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Switzerland to collect data from non-Schengen visitors
This content was published on
The data of travellers from non-Schengen countries will be automatically recorded at the borders of member countries, also Switzerland.
Swiss air traffic controller in red after year of breakdowns
This content was published on
Swiss air traffic controller Skyguide ended 2024, a year marked by repeated breakdowns, with a loss of almost CHF19 million.
Ex-FIFA boss Blatter declares innocence in appeal trial
This content was published on
Former FIFA boss Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter has opened his defence at a Swiss appeal trial which is hearing allegations of fraud.
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.