The US just struck a deal for 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson
- Johnson & Johnson has entered into an agreement with the US government to provide 100 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine, with the option of 200 million more doses to be purchased at a later date.
- Human trials are already taking place in the U.S. and Belgium, but there are no approved coronavirus vaccines yet.
- J&J hopes to sell the vaccine for a not-for-profit price globally.
On Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson announced it will provide 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to the US to use once if the vaccine gets emergency approval. The agreement also allows for another order of 200 million doses at a future point.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with the US Department of Defense have pledged more than $1 billion toward this agreement.
This comes after the US government granted J&J $456 million to develop its vaccine, CNBC reports.
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"We greatly appreciate the US government's confidence in, and support for, our R&D platform and efforts and the scalability of our vaccine technology," said Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels in a statement.
The vaccine will be sold at a not-for-profit price across the world, although healthcare professionals could charge to administer doses. J&J plans to distribute the vaccine globally by the end of 2021.
While the company has already started human trials in the US and Belgium, the vaccine has not yet been approved for wide-scale use. The company is currently testing both one and two-dose vaccines.
J&J is not the only company trying to have a vaccine hit the market this year for emergency use. AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna are all aiming for fall approval.