AstraZeneca, Nipro sign COVID-19 vaccine deal for supply in Japan (updated)
26/05/2021 08:20
(Adds details from 2nd paragraph.)
May 26 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L and Nipro Corp
8086.T signed an agreement to supply the British-Swedish
company's COVID-19 vaccine in Japan, Nipro said on Wednesday.
Tokyo-listed Nipro, a major maker of syringes and medical
devices, said the contract was for filling the shot into vials
and packaging it, due to start next month. Japan's government
has agreed to acquire 120 million doses of AstraZeneca's
vaccine, enough for 60 million people. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2N813O
The shot was officially approved on Friday along with the
one developed by Moderna Inc MRNA.O . AstraZeneca already has a
deal with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co 4568.T to prepare and
bottle doses made from undiluted solution shipped from the
United States.
Domestic supply will gradually shift to Japanese producers,
with about 90 million doses to be made by JCR Pharmaceuticals Co
4552.T and other local partners. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2F92XN urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KB0FD
Japan started its inoculation drive in mid-February, later
than most major economies and using imported doses of the shot
developed by Pfizer Inc PFE.N and BioNTech SE 22UAy.DE . The
Moderna vaccine went into use this week with the opening of mass
vaccination centres. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NB05Z
But there are no immediate plans to use AstraZeneca's shot
in Japan, amid lingering concerns raised internationally over
blood clots.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Rocky Swift in
Tokyo; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Louise Heavens)
((Pushkala.A@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @pullthekart; Mobile:
+91 852 751 3793 ;))