Japan's Shionogi primed to mass-produce coronavirus vaccine in 2021

Drugmaker rolls dice with bulking up capacity before clinical trials launch

Drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, seen here in orange in a scanning electron microscope image. © U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

YUTA SHIMONO, Nikkei staff writer

May 8, 2020 09:16 JST

TOKYO -- As Shionogi & Co. races to bring a possible coronavirus vaccine to the market next year, the Japanese drug manufacturer is considering plans to expand production capabilities before clinical trials start.

"While keeping pace with rivals, I expect a release date by around fall 2021 at the latest," Shionogi President and CEO Isao Teshirogi told Nikkei in an interview.