By Mauro Orru

BioNTech SE said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Novartis AG to acquire a manufacturing facility in Germany in a move that is set bolster BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine production capacity by up to 750 million doses a year.

The German biotechnology company didn't disclose financial details but said the transaction to take over the facility in Marburg is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"This acquisition reflects BioNTech's commitment to significantly expanding its manufacturing capacity in order to supply a potential vaccine world-wide upon authorization or approval," said BioNTech Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Sierk Poetting.

BioNTech, which is evaluating the efficacy of vaccine candidate BNT162b2 with Pfizer Inc. in a Phase 3 trial, said it should be able to produce up to 250 million doses in the first half of 2021.

The vaccine is part of the BNT162 program, which includes five candidates in clinical testing in the U.S., Europe, South America, and China, BioNTech said. 



  Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94