BRIEF—AstraZeneca in deal with Shenzhen Kangtai for COVID-19 vaccine

Anglo-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca has entered into an agreement with Chinese vaccine manufacturer Shenzhen Kangtai to produce its COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, when approved, in China by the end of 2020.

Under the agreement, Shenzhen Kangtai, one of China's top vaccine makers, will ensure it has annual production capacity of at least 100 million doses of the experimental vaccine AZD1222.

Shenzhen Kangtai has the capacity to manufacture at least 200 million by the end of next year as part of the deal, according to BioSpectrum Asia.

AstraZeneca is developing this vaccine in a partnership with Oxford University.

Interim results from the ongoing Phase I/II COV001 trial of AZD1222 showed the vaccine was tolerated and generated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants in the COV001 trial, involving 1,077 healthy adult participants, aged 18 to 55 years