Which companies will likely produce the most COVID-19 vaccine in 2021? 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, much of society has pinned its hopes on the availability of a vaccine. Now that several are available across the world, there is hope, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, in a recent JAMA interview. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel.” 

One thing that will make the light at the end of the tunnel brighter as we head into the spring is the greater availability of vaccine doses. “The discordance between supply and demand will be diminished,” Fauci said. 

The roster of companies producing vaccines is steadily increasing, making it possible to vaccinate a substantial portion of the world’s population this year. (Note: Most of the companies in this list have two-dose vaccines.) 

Here’s a roundup of notable companies’ production targets for 2021:

AstraZeneca and Oxford University: Up to 3 billion doses

In Nov. 2020, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) projected it could produce up to 3 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. However, its deliveries to the EU have been slower than expected, resulting in a vaccine supply dispute. The company recently vowed to provide the EU an additional 9 million doses of its vaccine to resolve the dispute. 

Pfizer and BioNTech: 1.3 billion doses

In Nov. 2020, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) projected they could produce up to 1.3 billion doses this year. They recently bumped up that figure to 2 billion. Pfizer has projected vaccine sales will generate $15 billion in revenue in 2021. 

Production in early 2021 was slower than expected in Europe, but the two companies have reported that their production capacity has been restored. 

Johnson & Johnson: 1 billion doses

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) aims to produce 1 billion doses this year and expand production after that. The company has committed to not-for-profit pricing during the pandemic assuming its single-dose vaccine is authorized by FDA and other regulators. JNJ is also investigating a two-dose regimen for its vaccine. 

Sinovac: Approximately 1 billion doses

The China-based vaccine maker Sinovac has the capacity to produce about 500 million doses of its CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine. But this month, the company could double its annual production capacity to 1 billion doses.

Sinopharm: 1 billion doses

The chairman of Sinopharm (OTCMKTS:SHTDY), Yang Xiaoyun, has said that the company could produce one billion doses of its two-dose vaccine this year.

Gameleya Center: 1 billion doses

The Russian research center stated last year that it planned on producing 1 billion vaccine doses in 2021. Recent data suggest the vaccine offers 91.6% efficacy, making it one of the most efficacious COVID-19 vaccines available.

Moderna: 600 million to 1 billion doses

Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) increased its 2021 production target early in 2021 to 600 million doses. The company had projected an earlier minimum of 500 million doses. With sufficient hiring and investments, the firm could produce 1 billion doses this year. 

NovaVax: At least 1 billion doses

Novavax (NSDQ:NVAX) has stated that it can produce more than 2 billion doses annually “when all planned capacity has been brought online by mid-2021.”

A partnership with the Serum Institute of India will yield a projected 1 billion doses of its NVX-CoV2373 vaccine in 2021.

CureVac: Up to 300 million doses

CureVac (NSDQ:CVAC) aims to produce roughly 300 million vaccine doses in 2021. A collaboration with Bayer could help it boost capacity in 2022. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) has agreed to help the company make up to 100 million doses of CureVac’s mRNA vaccine. The two companies will also collaborate on a next-gen vaccine.