J&J Lands U.S. Government Contract for 100 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has secured a $1 billion contract from the U.S. government to manufacture 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad26.COV2.S.

Under the agreement with HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the Department of Defense, the company will deliver the doses following the vaccine’s approval or authorization for emergency use.  The deal includes an option to purchase an additional 200 million doses.

The contract is J&J’s first supply deal with a country for the investigational vaccine. Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said the deal shows the U.S. government’s confidence in the vaccine and in the scalability of its technology.

The drugmaker began an early-stage trial of the vaccine in 1,000 healthy adults last week in the U.S. and Belgium (DID, July 31). — Jordan Williams