ZURICH: Novartis has agreed to expand its fill-and-finish support for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by using manufacturing facilities Ljubljana, Slovenia, to fill at least 24 million doses in 2022, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.

Novartis plans to take bulk mRNA active ingredient from BioNTech and fill this into vials under sterile conditions for shipment back to BioNTech for distribution.

This new agreement follows an earlier deal for the fill and finish of more than 50 million doses in 2021 at the Novartis Stein site in Switzerland.