AstraZeneca secures two new deals with US government: Report

AstraZeneca, the British drugmaker that is working on a vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University on June 9 said that it has secured a fresh deal with authorities in the United States to advance the antibody-related coronavirus treatments. the company did not reveal any details about the deal, however, media reports suggest that it has signed agreements with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The new deals will see AstraZeneca moving its two COVID-19 antibody therapies into clinal studies in the next two months. 

Read: Coronavirus Update: AstraZeneca Drug Company Acquires Orders For COVID-19 Vaccine

AstraZeneca last week signed new agreements with companies to double its production from one billion doses to two billion doses. The British company signed deals 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.

Read: AstraZeneca Secures Orders For COVID-19 Vaccine

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 the 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.

Read: AstraZeneca, Oxford University Team Up To Develop COVID-19 Vaccine

Read: AstraZeneca Aims To Boost Potential Supply Of COVID-19 Vaccine To 2 Billion