US sinks another $2.1 billion into a potential vaccine Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur say they will supply 100 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes of securing a candidate that worksLONDON -- Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur have announced they will supply 100 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes of securing a candidate that works. The United States will pay up to $2.1 billion “for development including clinical trials, manufacturing, scale-up and delivery" of the vaccine, the two companies based in Europe said in a statement. The U.S. government has a further option for the supply of an additional 500 million doses longer term as part of its Operation Warp Speed program. The vaccine being developed by Britain's GSK and France’s Sanofi’s is based on existing DNA-based technology that is used to produce Sanofi’s seasonal flu vaccine. The idea would be to offer a contractual framework for the purchase of 300 million doses should the vaccine work.

Source: ABC News July 31, 2020 13:36 UTC