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A scientist at RNA drug company Arcturus Therapeutics investigates a vaccine for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in a laboratory in San Diego, California, U.S., March 17, 2020 (Reuters file photo).
US pharmaceutical company Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc said on Monday that it could ship the first batch of a Covid-19 vaccine that it has been developing with local scientists early next year to Singapore.
The statement comes as the company announced positive preliminary results from ongoing early-phase clinical trials in the city-state, according to a Straits Times report.
Arcturus announced a vaccine manufacturing and supply agreement with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) for up to $ 220 million in additional financial commitments, the company’s chief financial officer Andrew Sassine said, according to an earnings transcript.
EDB will provide a limited recourse loan of $ 45 million within 60 days, subject to the submission of certain documentation. The loan will be repaid through royalties on future commercial sale of the vaccine, and the loan will be forgiven if vaccine development is unsuccessful or does not obtain regulatory approval.
Arcturus and EDB have entered into a supply agreement for the right to purchase up to $ 175 million of ARCT-021 vaccine at pre-negotiated prices, with shipment expected in the first quarter of 2021.
“Together with our global manufacturing partners, we have laid the foundation to produce hundreds of millions of doses of ARCT-021 over the next 18 months,” said Sassine.
Results so far show that the vaccine could be effective as a single dose, the Straits Times reported, citing Professor Ooi Eng Eong of the Duke-NUS School of Medicine, who had developed the vaccine together with Arcturus.
