AstraZeneca secures manufacturing capacity for 1 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine

AstraZeneca (AZ) recently announced that it had secured manufacturing capacity for one-billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine, currently being tested by the University of Oxford. Furthermore, AZ also announced that it had concluded initial agreements with Oxford University for at least four-hundred million doses of the vaccine, with initial deliveries planned for this forthcoming September.

AZ, who is working with the World Health Organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, has received one-billion dollars from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the production and delivery of the vaccine.

The Oxford University adenoviral candidate, AZD1222, has completed its first round of dosing in trials and results are scheduled to be produced later this month. The vaccine has been awarded millions of pounds in support from the government for research and rapid development, to fast-track the vaccine through clinical testing.

Chief Executive Officer of AZ, Pascal Soriot, stated: “We are so proud to be collaborating with Oxford University to turn their groundbreaking work into a medicine that can be produced on a global scale. We would like to thank the US and UK governments for their substantial support in accelerating the development and production of the vaccine, we will do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available.”