AstraZeneca aims to boost potential supply of COVID-19 vaccine to 2 billion

AstraZeneca, the British drugmaker who last month said it could supply one billion doses of coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with scientists at Oxford University has reached a landmark deal to double its production to two billion doses. According to reports, AstraZeneca has signed new agreements with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, to bring the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries and beyond.

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"The Company today reached a $750m agreement with CEPI and Gavi to support the manufacturing, procurement, and distribution of 300 million doses of the vaccine, with delivery starting by the end of the year. In addition, AstraZeneca reached a licensing agreement with SII to supply one billion doses for low and middle-income countries, with a commitment to provide 400 million before the end of 2020," the company in a press release said on June 4.  

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"We are working tirelessly to honour our commitment to ensure broad and equitable access to Oxford’s vaccine across the globe and at no profit. Today marks an important step in helping us supply hundreds of millions of people around the world, including to those in countries with the lowest means. I am deeply grateful for everyone’s commitment to this cause and for their work in bringing this together in such a short time," said Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca.

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COVID-19 vaccine

Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, working with the Oxford Vaccine Group has developed a potential vaccine AZD1222, formerly known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. Oxford University recently announced the start of Phase II/III trial of AZD1222 in about 10,000 adult volunteers. The new vaccine uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold (adenovirus) virus that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack COVID-19 if it later infects the body.

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(Image Credit: AP)