Spain's Reig Jofre to manufacture J&J's COVID-19 vaccine, shares soar (updated)
15/12/2020 10:21
(Adds share price, background)
By Joan Faus and Nathan Allen
BARCELONA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Spanish pharmaceutical Reig
Jofre RJFE.MC said on Tuesday it had agreed with Johnson &
Johnson JNJ.N to produce the U.S. company's COVID-19 vaccine,
becoming the third Spanish company to be chosen to take part in
manufacturing coronavirus vaccines.
After the announcement, Reig Jofre's stock price surged 32%
to 4.99 euros ($6.07) a share, on track for its best day ever.
J&J's Janssen subsidiary will transfer the technology
required for large-scale manufacture of the vaccine candidate to
Reig Jofre, allowing production at its plant in Barcelona to get
underway once the shot receives regulatory approval, the Spanish
company said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Reig Jofre said it will be
responsible for the formulation, filling and packaging of the
vaccine, while Janssen will handle distribution.
The company's new plant in Barcelona is under construction
and due to start operating in the first quarter of 2021.
Spain's pharmaceutical firm Rovi ROVI.MC was selected in
October for the fill and finish final stage of manufacturing for
Moderna's MRNA.O COVID-19 vaccine outside the United States,
which is expected to start in early 2021. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2HB3V8
In September, Spanish biopharmaceutical group Zendal said it
would handle production in the European Union of the antigen of
U.S. Novavax's NVAX.O coronavirus vaccine project.
Reig Jofre said last month it would able to produce 50
million doses of COVID-19 vaccine a year at its new factory
without cancelling any existing contracts. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HZ0FP
The company's CEO Ignasi Biosca told Reuters in July the
company should have the capacity to produce between one million
to two million vaccine doses per day next year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2E8394
Biosca said it could invest an additional 2-3 million euros
to adapt its plant for the final step in the production process
of putting the vaccine into vials or syringes, such as
guaranteeing the low temperature needed to preserve it.
($1 = 0.8224 euros)
(Reporting by Joan Faus and Nathan Allen; additional reporting
by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
((Nathan.Allen@thomsonreuters.com;))