AstraZeneca to ask Japan's JCR Pharmaceutical to produce COVID-19 vaccine
- The government in December agreed to buy 120 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University with deliveries to begin in May.
- JCR Pharmaceuticals was not immediately available for comment outside business hours on Wednesday.
TOKYO: AstraZeneca Plc will license Japanese biotechnology company JCR Pharmaceutical , to produce some 90 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to help Japan avoid shortages and delays, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
The government in December agreed to buy 120 million doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University with deliveries to begin in May, the Nikkei said.
JCR Pharmaceuticals was not immediately available for comment outside business hours on Wednesday.
The company produces human growth hormones and a treatment for renal anaemia, among other drugs.
By having the vaccine produced at home, Japan may be looking to avoid potential delays in deliveries. Rollouts of the vaccine have slowed in the European Union after AstraZeneca cut supplies, prompting anger among EU officials.
Japan is likely to begin inoculating its population from the end of February when it is expected to approve Pfizer Inc's vaccine.
It has ordered 75 million doses of that vaccine.