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Pharmaceutical giant Merck to cooperate with competitor Johnson & Johnson to produce newly approved corona vaccine US President Joe Biden announced this “historic cooperation” on March 2 local time.
In an interview with the Washington Post, a Biden administration official who did not want to be named said the cooperation is expected to rapidly increase Johnson & Johnson’s supply of single-dose vaccines.
However, it was previously reported that Johnson & Johnson’s third vaccine, which was urgently approved by the United States government, was released slower than expected.
According to the White House, Merck will allocate two factories in the United States to produce Johnson & Johnson vaccines and will receive funding from the National Defense Production Act. One of the factories is responsible for vaccine production, and Biden government officials said the vaccine supply could double compared to Johnson & Johnson’s own production. Another factory will provide “fill and process” services, that is, filling of vaccines into vials and packaging for distribution.
“In addition to this incredible cooperation, we also have to announce that there are currently three vaccines available in the United States.” Before Biden’s speech, press secretary Jan Psaki said.
The reason for the cooperation between the two parties is mainly due to Johnson & Johnson’s production facing delays.
On the morning of March 3 local time, approximately 3.9 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine were expected to be delivered to medical institutions across the country. After Johnson & Johnson’s initial supply of 3.9 million doses of vaccine, Biden administration officials warned last weekend that it may take some time to wait for Johnson & Johnson to provide more vaccines.
Last year, the US government signed a $ 1 billion contract with Johnson & Johnson, involving 100 million doses of vaccine, of which at least 37 million doses will be provided by the end of March.
The cooperation between Merck and Johnson & Johnson will promote the production of single-dose vaccines, but it is not yet clear when they will be able to help.
According to the “Washington Post” report, the “filling and processing” plant may take two months to get up and running, while another plant will take several months to complete the equipment modification before it can produce vaccines.
On March 1, Johnson & Johnson CEO and President Alex Gorski said in an interview with CNN that he believes the company can deliver on its promise and achieve its vaccine distribution goals.
“We have established extensive partnerships in the United States, Europe and other regions and we are very confident that we will provide 20 million doses by the end of March, 100 million doses in the first half of the year, and one billion doses by the end of this year.” Gorski said.
Timing of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is critical. As mentioned in the Fortune magazine report on March 1, experts said that in the coming weeks, vaccinating as many people as possible is critical to the increased risk of outbreak the next morning. The current risk is a series of new coronavirus variants that are constantly spreading (some of which are more dangerous than the most prevalent strains right now) and may trigger a fourth wave of spread.
With the help of the Merck plant, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine distribution has received a major boost. Merck has been producing vaccines for a century.
On the “Fortune” US 500 list, Merck, which ranks 69, is the only provider of combination vaccines for children that can prevent measles, mumps and rubella. At the same time, the company is also a manufacturer of the Gadsi cervical cancer vaccine. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Merck to produce an Ebola vaccine.
Biden said: “We are looking for progress from the chaos we just took on.” However, when asked when the country can return to normal, he remained cautious, saying that he was not very sure and therefore could not set a timetable. (Chinese network of fortune)
Translator: Xia Lin
