Reig Jofre, Pharmaceutical company listed on the Spanish stock exchange and specialized in the manufacturing of sterile injectable products, has reached an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), to execute the technology transfer to manufacture its investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2-S. Reig Jofre is completing the construction of a new state-of-the-art factory in Barcelona for sterile injectable products, tripling its existing capacity, which will be opened in 1Q21. The investment reaches to 30 million euros.
After months of evaluation and technical work by supply chain, manufacturing, and operations teams, the execution of the agreement is expected to result in Reig Jofre producing its first batches of this vaccine candidate, presuming approval by appropriate health authorities.
The project candidate entails additional investment, already underway, to ensure the new facility complies with the biosafety levels required by the Ad26.COV2-S vaccine candidate. Under the terms of the agreement, the Spanish company will be responsible for the formulation, filling, and packaging of the vaccine candidate, which will then be distributed by Janssen.
Ignasi Biosca, CEO of REIG JOFRE, highlights:
We are proud to see that the sustained effort of REIG JOFRE to invest in technology and industrial capabilities will now be decisive for contributing to deploy COVID-19 Vaccine into a large number of countries. Having been chosen by Janssen as one of its partners for the manufacturing of its Ad26.COV2-S vaccine candidate will give REIG JOFRE the opportunity to prove the strategic value that strong, competitive, and technologically advanced industries can play in overcoming such difficult situations as the one we are facing at present.
