Gov't reaches deal with Johnson & Johnson for COVID-19 vaccine

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it plans to produce and deliver 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine as part of a new agreement with the U.S. government.

The company said its Janssen Pharmaceutical subsidiary agreed with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to distribute its investigational Ad26.COV2.S vaccine on a "not-for-profit basis" once it's approved.

The government can also buy an additional 200 million doses as part of a commitment made in March.

Early-phase clinical trials of the vaccine are underway in the United States and Belgium.

"Johnson & Johnson's global team of experts has worked tirelessly alongside BARDA and scientific partners to pursue a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that can help to stop the spread of COVID-19," J&J Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels said in a statement.

He added that the drugmaker is "scaling up production" to deliver the vaccine.

"With the portfolio of vaccines being assembled for Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration is increasing the likelihood that the United States will have at least one safe, effective vaccine by 2021," added HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

BARDA had previously awarded $456 million in development funds to Johnson & Johnson, which aims to supply more than 1 billion doses globally through next year.

Friday, the administration awarded up to $2.1 billion to Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline to develop and deliver 100 million doses of their vaccine candidate.