British laboratory says it will be able to offer its coronavirus vaccine in September

Maria Laura Avignolo

05/21/2020 - 16:03

• Clarín.com
• World

The British laboratory AstraZeneca, which is to produce the potential coronavirus vaccine with the University of Oxford, announced that it is increasing its "capacity rapidly to ensure global vaccine delivery and access . "

AstraZeneca reported that it has the capacity to manufacture "one billion doses" of the potential Covid 19 vaccine and plans to start offering it in September.

The laboratory said it has already taken "orders for at least 400 million doses of the vaccine, " which it is developing in association with the University of Oxford. The tests on macaque monkeys have been completed and have already begun on humans.

It is seeking to negotiate new agreements to ensure "global accessibility of vaccine accessibility."

In his report he said that the results of a clinical trial in the south of England "are expected very soon." If they are successful, they will be carried out in other countries.

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The AstraZeneca laboratory bought shares in Moderna, which is seeking to produce the vaccine in Massachusetts, in the United States.

British ministers have rejected the possibility of increasing the production capacity of the vaccine. The Salamanca group was ready to generate a 257 hectare facility in Somerset. But the plan was removed by the authorities. They suggested that the capabilities they had were already sufficient. The government's fear is that it will not be able to honor the orders for millions of doses of the vaccine that they have already ordered .

Martin Bellamy, the president of the Salamanca group, said. "We are amazed that the government is not more ambitious in its production capacity. They can play a role in the world for our scientists and that they recognize that Covid 19 is a problem for everyone before a global solution, "he said.

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"It is disconcerting that when we are at the forefront of producing a vaccine, we do not seem at the forefront of being able to produce many hundreds of millions of doses," he  suggested.

Bellamy approached the government 6 weeks ago and had talks with Sir Patrick Vallance, the government scientific adviser, and with Sir John Bell, the immunologist at Oxford University. His project was to build it in a former Royal Ordnance factory and it would cost £ 1 billion.

The government asked AstraZeneca to produce 30 million doses in September if the vaccine works. Some scientists have warned that it could only be partially effective.

They are urging the government to produce extra capacity if the vaccine is effective and with export capacity.

The government is spending £ 90 million to build a manufacturing center at the Harwell science camp at Didcot in South Oxford. It will not be finished until the European summer of next year and will be small in relation to the facilities of other countries.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said “it would not be smart for the government to miss this opportunity to increase its capacity. There is a strong argument for building and promoting domestic capacity, ”he told Clarín .

Britain only has a factory for the injectable vaccine in Seqiris, near Liverpool, in the north of the kingdom. Sanofi, the French laboratory that is also looking to get the vaccine, has three factories and its partner GlaxoSmithKline has a manufacturing "center" in Belgium but not in Britain.