AstraZeneca Strikes Deal to Produce Covid-19 Vaccine for China
06 Agosto 2020 - 2:08PM
Noticias Dow Jones
By Chao Deng and Joseph Walker
AstraZeneca PLC has agreed to have a Chinese drugmaker produce
hundreds of millions of doses of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine
for use in China if it is approved by regulators there, a deal that
expands China's access to potential vaccine options.
Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. will be able to
manufacture at least 100 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine by
year's end, and at least 200 million by the end of 2021, according
to statements by both companies Thursday.
AstraZeneca, which has promised to provide more than two billion
doses of its experimental vaccine for the world, has struck up
deals to sell its vaccine to the U.S. and Europe. The British
company is also working with the Serum Institute of India to
provide one billion doses for low and middle-income countries.
It said the agreement with Kangtai was an exclusive one for the
mainland Chinese market.
China is developing several vaccine candidates of its own,
although the deal suggests that Chinese leaders and scientists
believe that the domestic market could benefit from more vaccine
options. The country is following in the footsteps of nations like
the U.S., which earlier in the year pledged $1.2 billion to secure
at least 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine.
Co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, the
experimental vaccine AZD1222 is among the world's most advanced
vaccine candidates, and is being tested in late-stage, or Phase 3,
studies in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. Moderna Inc. and
competitor Pfizer Inc. both launched Phase 3 U.S. studies of their
vaccine candidates in late July, as did China's drugmakers Sinovac
Biotech Ltd. and China National Biotec Group Co.
AstraZeneca is expected to start a Phase 3 U.S. study this
month.
Unlike a similar vaccine candidate by China's CanSino Biologics
Inc., which is based on a virus found in humans, the Oxford vaccine
uses a virus from the chimpanzee, meaning people are less likely to
have pre-existing immunity to it.
It couldn't be determined how the agreement with Kangtai came
together. AstraZeneca said it was the only multinational
pharmaceutical company to send a representative to a business forum
with Chinese President Xi Jinping in late July.
Mr. Xi "hopes we can overcome challenges amid the epidemic and
to be our best selves," Wang Lei, AstraZeneca's executive vice
president, said in an interview with state-run China Central
Television after the forum.
Kangtai, one of the world's major producers of the hepatitis B
vaccine, has previously said it will invest one billion yuan
($143.8 million) to build a manufacturing plant for Covid-19
vaccines with a capacity of 100 million doses a year. It has been
earmarked by authorities as an emergency health project and is
expected to be completed as early as the end of August.
China's National Medical Products Administration, which approves
drugs and vaccines for public use in the country, hasn't yet
greenlighted AstraZeneca's vaccine. The Wall Street Journal
couldn't determine what sort of clinical tests in China the vaccine
would need to undergo. Kangtai said it would be responsible for
trials and communication with Chinese authorities as needed.
Foreign drugmakers are known to pair with Chinese companies to
help streamline the regulatory approval process. Germany's BioNTech
SE is collaborating with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co. to test
its vaccine candidate in China and potentially distribute it
there.
AstraZeneca and Kangtai will also "explore the possibility of
cooperation on the vaccine candidate in other markets," AstraZeneca
China said.
Kangtai makes vaccine shots to prevent flu, pneumonia, measles
and rubella. It is working on developing other Covid-19 vaccine
candidates, including one in collaboration with Beijing-based
Advaccine Biotechnology Co.
Raffaele Huang contributed to this article.
Write to Chao Deng at Chao.Deng@wsj.com and Joseph Walker at
joseph.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 06, 2020 14:53 ET (18:53 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Astrazeneca (LSE:AZN)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2024 a Abr 2024
Astrazeneca (LSE:AZN)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2023 a Abr 2024