Johnson & Johnson in Talks with Japan, EU, Gates Foundation for Covid-19 Vaccine Supply

The US government provided $1.2 billion in drug development aid to the UK drugmaker in exchange for locking in a delivery of around 300 million doses for fall 2020.

AstraZeneca has also signed a contract with France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands for up to 400 million doses of its potential vaccine.

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It has also partnered with non-profits to ensure distribution to developing countries.

Wolk added that these discussions will help Johnson & Johnson determine pricing for its vaccine, which the US drugmaker intends to sell on a not-for-profit basis during the pandemic.

"The more demand we have, the better and lower that cost would potentially be,” Wolk said.

The company aims to begin manufacturing the vaccine later this year, depending on its success in clinical trials, he added.

In its Thursday earnings call, J&J said it plans to start its first human trials of its Covid-19 vaccine on July 22 and could kick off late-stage studies as soon as September. 

(Writer: Carl O'Donnell, Manas Mishra | Editor: Chizu Nomiyama, Lisa Shumaker) 

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-johnson-johnson-va/exclusive-jj-in-talks-with-japan-gates-foundation-to-lock-in-deals-on-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKCN24H2FB