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Behind the scenes from starter cells to a finished vaccine. Inside this facility in Chesterfield, Missouri, trillions of bacteria are producing tiny loops of DNA containing coronavirus genes — the raw material for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It’s the start of a complex manufacturing and testing process that takes 60 days and involves Pfizer facilities in three states. The result will be millions of doses of the vaccine, frozen and ready to ship.
Pull DNA from Cold Storage
A scientist removes vials of DNA from the master cell bank, the source of every batch of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. The vials are kept at –150°C (–238°F) or below, and contain small rings of DNA called plasmids. Each plasmid contains a coronavirus gene, the genetic instructions for a human cell to build coronavirus proteins and trigger an immune response to the virus. Scientists thaw the plasmids and modify a batch of E. coli bacteria to take the plasmids inside their cells. A single vial can eventually produce up to 50 million doses of the vaccine....
