LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will buy potential COVID-19 vaccines from US drugmakers Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Novavax Inc (NVAX.O), the companies said on Friday, improving the number of deals it has with drugmakers as the global fax race draws to a close.
FILE PHOTO: The company logo for Johnson & Johnson is displayed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the company’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, September 17, 2019. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid / File Photo
Britain and the United States are in the lead with six vaccinated deals with drugmakers each, as companies and governments around the world work overtime to find a vaccine against the pandemic disease.
The latest agreements bring the total number of doses of Britain secured to 340 million, with options for millions more, for a population of 66 million.
Britain said both vaccines could be available by mid-next year for priority groups, such as frontline health and social care workers, ethnic minorities, adults with serious illnesses, and the elderly.
The deals deal with a wide variety of fax types currently under development for COVID-19, as Britain is trying to hedge its bet should one or more of the technologies become ineffective.
“For now, that is probably the basis of the portfolio. We should basically see now what we want to add, if any, immediately so that the types of vaccines we have in the hopper can diversify now, “Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, told Reuters.
“I think we are well placed … but I think we need to look at the data of some of these early faxes first before we know what is likely to be protective and what is not.”
Johnson & Johnson said its Janssen Pharmaceutica unit will supply Britain with its candidate, known as Ad26.COV2.S, with an initial sale of 30 million doses on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use.
The pre-purchase agreement will also provide an option for an additional purchase of up to 22 million doses, it said.
Separately, Novavax said Britain would buy 60 million doses of its vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373. Novavax will produce some of the vaccine using Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies facilities in Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England.
Alex Harris, head of global policy at the Wellcome Trust, said the deals put Britain in a strong position, urging the government to explain how it will now provide fair and equitable access to faxes for the poor. countries.
“Without this … increases the risk that other rich countries will try to strike some kind of bilateral deals, potentially … leaving insufficient volume vaccine for the rest of the world,” Harris said in a statement.
The Janssen vaccine uses an adenovirus technique to release coronavirus proteins into cells in the body, while the Novavax shot uses a technology known as recombinant nanoparticle to produce antigens – molecules designed to activate the immune system to stimulate.
Recent studies show the potential for an experimental vaccine is roughly one in three, from early testing in humans to regulatory approval.
J&J said it had also agreed to work with the UK government on a worldwide Phase III trial to explore the two-dose regimen of its COVID-19 vaccine, which will run in parallel with a Phase III single-dose trial. Britain will also partner with Novavax on a late-stage UK-based trial.
No COVID-19 vaccine candidate has yet been proven effective against the disease, but about 20 are in clinical studies.
Report by Alistair Smout, Josephine Mason and Kate Kelland; edited by Jason Neely, Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Louise Heavens
.
