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AstraZeneca signs first deal with Chinese firm to produce COVID-19 vaccine

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Aug 06, 2020, 06:52 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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AZD1222, that is jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford Univesity, is one of the frontrunners in COVID-19 vaccine race

AstraZeneca Plc on Thursday signed a deal with a China-based company for producing its potential drug to treat novel coronavirus in mainland China. 

Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products becomes the first Chinese company to enter into a deal with AstraZeneca. 

AZD1222, that is jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford Univesity, is one of the frontrunners in COVID-19 vaccine race.

The agreement says that Shenzhen Kangtai will annually produce at least 100 million doses of AZD1222 and must be able to stretch it to 200 million doses by the end of 2021, AstraZeneca said on Thursday. 

It also said the two pharma giants will seek the possibility of cooperation on the vaccine candidate in other markets. 

Earlier, AstraZeneca has signed production deals with countries like the US, India, Britain, South Korea, which overall leads to the manufacturing of over two billion doses. 

Chinese organisations have earlier tied up with other Western pharma firms such as Germany's BioNTech and US's Inovio Pharma for producing coronavirus vaccine. 

Shenzhen Kangtai is one of China's leading vaccine makers and its shares have surged nearly 90 per cent to about $20 billion in the last one month, with its stocks witnessing a record-high on Tuesday.