Merck KGaA boosts lipid capacity to meet vaccine demand

The company's new synthetic cholesterol product will help meet the demand for mRNA vaccines, including Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine

Germany's Merck KGaA has launched a new, high-purity synthetic cholesterol product nine months ahead of schedule in response to high demand for mRNA vaccines.

Cholesterol, a type of lipid, is a key component of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.

In February 2021, Merck KGaA extended its partnership with BioNTech to significantly accelerate the supply and increase quantities of urgently needed lipids to be delivered toward the end of 2021. The lipids will be used to produce the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Merck's Andrew Bulpin, head of Process Solutions, Life Science, said the company had managed to design a proprietary process to bring its SAFC synthetic cholesterol product to market nine months ahead of schedule.

The company is supporting more than 50 companies in their journey to develop and produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatments by providing custom lipids and other raw materials, processing equipment and services used in mRNA drugs and vaccine manufacturing.

By introducing this cholesterol product, the company has increased its capacity across three manufacturing sites — Schaffhausen, Switzerland; Darmstadt, Germany; and St Louis, Missouri, USA — by 50 times.

The company says its new synthetic product offers 99% purity, scalability and batch-to-batch consistency.

The new product launch comes a little more than four months after Merck acquired Germany-based AmpTec, an mRNA contract development and manufacturing organisation.