Accelerated production setup for Covid-19 vaccine with Siemens automation and digitalization solutions
The BioNTech SE biotechnology company based in Mainz has converted an existing facility in Marburg for the production of the Covid-19 vaccine in a record time with assistance from Siemens.
The BioNTech SE biotechnology company based in Mainz has converted an existing facility for the production of the Covid-19 vaccine in a record time with assistance from Siemens.
- Siemens supports BioNTech in converting to vaccine production at the Marburg plant
- Key parts of the new Manufacturing Execution System ready to use after only two and a half months
- Digitalization enables paperless documentation of production
The production plant has been producing the active substance since February and the vaccine BNT162b2 (also known as COMIRNATY®) since the end of March. BioNTech acquired a production facility for this in the fall of 2020 that was already equipped with capabilities for producing biotechnological substances. Through collaboration with Siemens and the team of experts on site in Marburg, the project timeline for converting the existing facility for the production of mRNA-vaccine was cut from around one year down to five months, whereby the implementation of key parts of the new Manufacturing Execution System (MES) was reduced to two and half months. The new system and end-to-end digitalization of production enable conversion to “paperless documentation of production”, which can immediately fulfill all documentation requirements.
The entire process flow is controlled using Siemens products: The Opcenter Execution Pharma MES is used to orchestrate subsystems and processes and to analyze their quality. Production processes can be automatically developed, optimized and managed. mRNA processes encompass a number of manual work steps, such as weighing, which can now be performed by Siemens weighing systems, as precise measurement of weight is vital for product quality. All systems were modified for automation using the Simatic PCS 7 process control system, which controls and regulates the system processes. Other products used include network technology, WLAN access points, communication technology and the TIA Portal engineering framework. Siemens supports system implementation for production startup at BioNTech with in-depth service and on-call readiness. Siemens and BioNTech enjoy a long tradition of partnership collaboration and have intensified their cooperation for Covid-19 vaccine production.
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