A British drug firm at the frontlines of the research to make a coronavirus vaccine disclosed Thursday a series of new contracts that will double its production capacity to 2 billion doses.
AstraZeneca Plc, a UK-headquartered biotech group, announced it has approved supply agreements for the production of 2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine should it prove effective.
The pharmaceutical giant stated that it has signed a $750 million deal with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi to manufacture and distribute 300 million doses of the potential drug that it is developing with Oxford University.
CEPI will spearhead the development and manufacturing, while the Geneva-based Gavi will lead the procurement. Under the deal, CEPI will roll out $383 million and Gavi will allot $367 million, an AstraZeneca representative divulged. AstraZeneca will provide 300 million doses on a no-profit term during the pandemic, CEPI revealed.
Astra said it plans to begin distribution of the vaccine to the United States and United Kingdom around September or October, with the balance of deliveries expected to be made by the beginning of 2021, according to chief executive officer Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, on a call with members of the press late Thursday.
According to a press release Thursday, AstraZeneca said it had also approved a licensing agreement with the Serum Institute of India to provide 1 billion doses to low- and middle-income countries, with 400 million of those shots scheduled to be delivered by end of the year.
AstraZeneca, which overtook Royal Dutch Shell last month to become the biggest market-value firm in the UK, stated that the latest contracts were part of efforts to build supply chains for the prospective vaccine at no profit.
Astra has already agreed to provide the US with 300 million doses of the possible vaccine and the UK with another 100 million, with the first deliveries anticipated in September.
Those agreements sparked worries that rich countries would attempt to monopolize supplies of essential COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for their own people, leaving nothing to the developing countries where a significant proportion of the world's population lives.
Poorer countries also don't have the financial capacity to pay for expensive drugs and treatments either, so AstraZeneca said it has agreed to deliver the doses at cost.
Soriot said that their goal is "to leave nobody behind," as reported by By Yuliya Talmazan of NBC News, after Astra sealed the agreement with a number of partners including Gates that will guarantee early supply to low-income nations.
