McKesson Corp. will help spread a vaccine for the new coronavirus in the US, said President Donald Trump on Friday, as part of the government’s efforts to accelerate an impetus to the American public.
The company will be a central distributor of both faxes and related supplies needed to manage them, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. The government is exercising an option in an existing contract with McKesson.
“Today’s announcement puts another building block in place as the nation moves toward a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said in the statement.
Fax distribution by McKesson contract with the government began in 2017 and has the potential to total more than $ 300 million, according to a federal spending database. The company has had similar contracts in the past, such as spreading the H1N1 vaccine in 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic.
The deal is part of Operation Warp Speed, the fax development program.
“We currently have three candidates in Phase 3 clinical trials and are on track to have more than 100 million doses of a vaccine before the end of the year and 500 million doses shortly thereafter,” Trump told reporters at a briefing of the White House. “We are logistically ready to disperse them – our army is ready.”
While Trump has called for a vaccine to be authorized for U.S. use by November, there will not be enough for everyone out of the gate and certain high-risk groups are likely to be prioritized. The establishment of vaccines that most Americans can reach is expected to last until well into 2021, top administration officials, including National Institute of Allergy and Director of Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, have said.
Drug distributors have confronted control in the past over their role in the opioid crisis. Last year, federal prosecutors investigated how drugmakers and distributors were involved in the flow of opioids into cities and towns in the U.S., including McKesson. In January, the company’s board reached a $ 175 million mark settlement with investors for their inability to find suspicious drug shipments. It has been involved in thousands of lawsuits related to the public health epidemic.
McKesson shares rose 5.1% to $ 160 after Trump announced the contract. Shares of McKesson rivals Cardinal Health Inc. en AmerisourceBergen Corp. I came up.
– With the help of Josh Wingrove
(Updates with quote from Trump, additional details by)
.
