Yahoo Finance AstraZeneca to ramp up supply of potential coronavirus vaccine to 2bn doses
Britain’s biggest drugmaker will be able to supply 2bn doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine as early as September, double the previous amount it had planned to deliver.
AstraZeneca said it will ramp up delivery after striking new deals to manufacture the vaccine, which is being developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.
The firm has agreed to supply one billion doses of the jab to low and middle-income countries as part of a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume.
It has also signed a $750m (£595m) deal with health organisations the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi Vaccines Alliance - both founded by Bill and Melinda Gates - to produce 300m doses.
AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot said he expects to know by August if the vaccine is effective. If it proves successful then the jab could be ready for distribution as early as September - starting in countries including the UK and US.
The new deals come in addition to existing agreements AstraZeneca has struck to supply 400m doses to Britain and America.
CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said there is still a possibility the vaccine may not work, but added that the organisation is confident in its success.
He said: “We believe the probability of success is high enough that we are willing to support the manufacturing at risk so that when we do collect the data and it shows the vaccine is both safe and effective we'll be able to move out as quickly as we possibly can."
Mr Soriot added: “The only thing I can tell you for sure is that we're going to give this our best shot and we keep our fingers crossed it will work.”
AstraZeneca plans to prioritise vulnerable people if the vaccine is successful, particularly those who are at most at risk of severe impacts from the disease such as the elderly and people with medical conditions, including hypertension or diabetes.
Some of the one billion doses to be produced by the Serum Institute will be used in India, with the remainder allocated globally depending on the greatest need.
Mr Hatchet admitted there are likely to be “bottlenecks” in the manufacturing process as a global glass shortage is making it more difficult to procure vials needed to deliver the vaccine.
He said: “The more lead time that we can have to address this incredibly complex logistical challenge of delivering a vaccine once we have one, the more likely we are to have countries, ready to receive and deliver the vaccine to their populations.
“Solving the problem of having a vaccine doesn't result in its being delivered. Vaccinating hundreds of millions or billions of people globally over the next one to two to three years, however long it takes, is going to be a massive challenge.”
