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Merck will help Johnson & Johnson manufacture covid-19 vaccine in the US

2021-03-02T17:22:44.132Z


The Biden Administration, which negotiated the pact, hopes this will allow the lab to meet its commitment to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June.


The first doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine prepared for distribution, at a logistics center in Shepherdsville (United States), yesterday.Timothy D. Easley / AP

Pharmaceutical company Merck will help rival Johnson & Johnson produce its coronavirus vaccine following a historic agreement that aims to accelerate the expansion of supply, according to local media.

The Joe Biden Administration negotiated for the particular alliance to go ahead and the Democratic president is expected to deliver the details this Tuesday afternoon at a press conference.

Authorities have said J&J is dealing with production problems and had only manufactured 3.9 million doses before receiving clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday.

Merck's help is expected to allow J&J to meet its commitment to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June and even exceed that forecast.

Sources familiar with the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity to

The Washington Post

, said the Biden Administration toured the country in search of additional manufacturing capacity after they noticed the delay in the production of Johnson & Johnson vaccines. .

In the midst of this adverse scenario and when deaths from covid-19 exceed half a million in the United States, the Government negotiated the agreement with Merck, one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world, which has not been able to develop its own drug against coronavirus.

When congressmen asked J&J Vice President Richard Nettles last week about the delays, he responded on Capitol Hill that the company had faced "significant challenges" due to its "highly complex" manufacturing process.

Merck will have two of its facilities to speed up the manufacturing and distribution process.

The plant in charge of producing the vaccine has the potential to practically double what Johnson & Johnson could do on its own, authorities cited by

The Washington Post said

.

They also noted that Biden will use the Defense Production Act to prioritize Merck's needs to improve its facilities, including the purchase of machinery, bags, tubes and filtration systems.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, unlike the other two approved in the US (Pfizer and Moderna's), requires a single prick to immunize and is 85% effective, according to information released this week by the FDA. the body in charge of the authorization of drugs.

The potential 100 million doses they will distribute until June, added to the 600 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines committed by the end of July, by mid-summer there would be enough vaccines to immunize all Americans who wish to do so. .

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