HIPRA's Catalan pharmaceutical campus, built to manufacture reproductive hormones for dairy cattle, simultaneously produces PHH-1V—a human COVID-19 mRNA vaccine that proved non-inferior to Moderna's booster in Phase III trials. Spain's health ministry ordered millions of doses from a company with zero prior human vaccine history, making veterinary biotech infrastructure a hidden chokepoint in pandemic response.
Source: EMA — Bimervax (PHH-1V) European Public Assessment Report · European Medicines Agency · Nov 30, 2022