AstraZeneca ties up with Emergent BioSolutions to make COVID-19 vaccine in U.S.

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(Reuters) – Emergent BioSolutions Inc (EBS.N) said on Thursday it signed an $87 million deal to make AstraZeneca Plc’s (AZN.L) experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, boosting the British drugmaker’s efforts to bring a vaccine to the market.

The deal comes weeks after the United States pledged up to $1.2 billion to secure 300 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is among the first to move into mid-stage trials.

AstraZeneca has said that the first indication of the effectiveness of its vaccine would likely be available in June or July. However, experts have cautioned that a safe and effective vaccine could take at least 12 to 18 months from the start of development.

Under the agreement, Emergent said reut.rs/2Yp6UD5 large-scale manufacturing of the vaccine will be done at its Baltimore Bayview facility, which has the capacity to produce up to hundreds of millions of doses annually.

FILE PHOTO: The company logo for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Emergent, which has also signed a deal with Johnson & Johnson to make its COVID-19 vaccine, said it would reserve some of its large-scale manufacturing capacity through 2020 for AstraZeneca.

Last week, the U.S. government awarded Emergent $628 million as the country looks to secure manufacturing capacity under its Operation Warp Speed program.

 

Reporting by Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel

 
 
Reuters source: