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Investors are expecting a vaccine to end the virus crisis.
Courtesy of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnsonof
The Covid-19 vaccine is a big promise as a way to get out of the worst outbreaks. Delivered as a one-time without severe storage requirements of the vaccine from
Pfizer
and
modern,
It could accelerate vaccination worldwide if it proved to be effective.
But on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that the company was facing a delay in producing the vaccine two months behind its initial schedule. The report comes amid growing expectations for data from the Johnson & Johnson Phase III vaccine trial (short name: JNJ), expected in the coming weeks.
Johnson & Johnson’s CEO Alex Gorsky spoke at the J.P. Morgan healthcare investors conference. Monday said the company aims to have “hundreds of millions” of the vaccine in the first half of this year and “close to a billion” by the end of the year.
“We are still working to achieve that,” said Gorsky, “and again we work day and night to see what we can do to accelerate this efficiency and safety, standardization and high quality. ”
But according to the New York Times on Wednesday, the company is failing to produce a pledge made to the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed.
Under the terms of the deal, announced in August, it agreed to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine to the U.S. government for $ 1 billion.The company did not disclose a specific production timeline target at the time. But the New York Times reported Wednesday that 12 million doses were expected to be ready by the end of February.
The Times said the production schedule was now two months delayed. Johnson & Johnson staff interviewed by the Times did not comment on the production. But Operation Warp Speed officials confirmed the paper was delayed.The Times reported that the company now expects to continue on its original production schedule by the end of April. Then it was planned to deliver more than 60 million doses.
“It is pre-determined to know the details of our vaccine candidate supply, as we do not have Phase III information yet and we have not applied for or obtained permission for use in an emergency,” the company said in a statement to. Barron’s On Wednesday, “We are still in discussions with regulators, including approvals and validation of our production processes,” said the company, saying production had begun with confidence that it could comply. The commitment to the government is expected to be more detailed “after these steps have been met.”
Johnson & Johnson shares were down 0.5 percent in early trading.The shares have gained 7 percent in the past 12 months.
Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com.
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