fill and finish

{{short description|Manufacturing process}}

In the pharmaceutical industry, fill and finish (also referred to as fill finish, fill-finish or fill/finish) is the process of filling vials with vaccine, biological and pharmaceutical Drug Substances (DS) and finishing the process of packaging the medicine for distribution. Many vaccine manufacturers use third parties to fill and finish their vaccines.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=26 July 2020|title=Fill / finish|url=http://www.vaccinedevelopment.org.uk/fill-finish.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=www.vaccinedevelopment.org.uk}}

The fill/finish process is a common bottleneck in the manufacturing and deployment of vaccines.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=6 April 2020|title=Vaccine Taskforce Aims|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/893417/S0135_Vaccine_Taskforce_Aims.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-26|website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk}}{{Cite journal|last1=Pagliusi|first1=Sonia|last2=Jarrett|first2=Stephen|last3=Hayman|first3=Benoit|last4=Kreysa|first4=Ulrike|last5=Prasad|first5=Sai D.|last6=Reers|first6=Martin|last7=Hong Thai|first7=Pham|last8=Wu|first8=Ke|last9=Zhang|first9=Youn Tao|last10=Baek|first10=Yeong Ok|last11=Kumar|first11=Anand|date=July 2020|title=Emerging manufacturers engagements in the COVID −19 vaccine research, development and supply|url= |journal=Vaccine|language=en|volume=38|issue=34|pages=5418–5423|doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.022|pmc=7287474|pmid=32600908}}{{Cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Joe|last2=Kuchler|first2=Hannah|date=2020-04-28|title=Drugmakers race to scale up vaccine capacity|url=https://www.ft.com/content/87d1170a-78bc-11ea-bd25-7fd923850377|access-date=2020-07-26|website=www.ft.com|language=en-GB}}

To address this problem, in 2013 the U.S. federal government created the Fill Finish Manufacturing Network, a network of third-party provider contracts intended to perform fill and finish operations for vaccines against future infectious diseases.{{Cite web|title=HHS boosts national capacity to produce pandemic flu vaccine: New fill and finish manufacturing network strengthens pandemic readiness|url=https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/news/Pages/fill-finish-130930.aspx|access-date=2020-07-26|website=www.phe.gov}}{{Cite web|title=Fill Finish Manufacturing Network|url=https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/barda/core-services/fill-finish-manufacturing-network/|access-date=2020-07-26|website=www.medicalcountermeasures.gov}} As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government has provided financial support for fill and finish operations.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=20 July 2020|title=Millions could be vaccinated against COVID-19 as UK secures strong portfolio of promising vaccines|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-could-be-vaccinated-against-covid-19-as-uk-secures-strong-portfolio-of-promising-vaccines|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-26|website=GOV.UK|language=en}}