Britain on Wednesday signed a supply deal for up to 60 million doses of a possible COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed by pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
However, there has yet to be a vaccine to be approved for treating COVID-19 patients. However, Sanofi and GSK confirmed in a statement that regulatory approval for their vaccine could be won by the first half of 2021 if clinical data proved positive.
Britain has moved early, striking vaccine supply deals with potential suppliers as ministers asserted the importance of securing supplies of a range of candidates.
Last week, Britain struck a series of deals for 30 million doses of the experimental BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, and a deal in principle for 60 million doses of the Valneva vaccine.
That followed a previously announced pact with AstraZeneca for the production of 100 million doses of its potential vaccine, that was developed in partnership with Oxford University.
Currently, Britain has over 250 million doses of potential vaccines.