Pfizer boosts Belgian exports
It is no secret that the pharmaceutical sector is one of the driving forces of our economy. Our exports have been particularly boosted by this sector during this pandemic year, and the Belgian Pfizer site is part of the reason for this.
Every month, just over 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine are produced at Pfizer's Puurs (Antwerp) plant. According to the National Bank, Belgium exported €3.8 billion worth of vaccines in the first four months of the year.
When we talk about the coronavirus vaccine, we are mainly referring to the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the first in the vaccine race. While much of it comes from the Michigan plants, Belgium and the Puurs plant in particular also play a major role in the production and shipment of the precious vaccine around the world. Flemish statistics show that 2 billion euros worth of COVID-19 vaccines were exported from our country at the beginning of the year.
The Belgian plant has increased its production capacity to meet the growing market demand. It was already well known for the filling of injectable drugs and has added the assembly of the coronavirus vaccine from 280 components located in 19 countries. Our location in the heart of Europe and our logistics capacity also play a role in this pharmaceutical success.
Production capacity is constantly increasing and the target of producing 4 billion doses should be reached in 2022.