AstraZeneca secures orders for virus vaccine under testing

May 22, 2020 News On Demand
virus-outbreak-britain-10

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, a view of the AstraZeneca logo, on a building, in South San Francisco, Calif. Drug maker AstraZeneca secured its first agreements Thursday, May 21, 2020 for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, bolstered by an investment from the U.S. vaccine agency. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

virus-outbreak-britain-10

LONDON (AP) — Drug maker AstraZeneca has secured the first agreements Thursday for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine that is being trialed. The Anglo-Swedish company reported it had received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting this fall. AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot says the investment will accelerate the development and production of the vaccine. He says the company will “do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available.”