India’s Biological E. to Manufacture Drug Substance for J&J’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Indian drugmaker Biological E. has secured a contract with Johnson & Johnson to supply drug substances for J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad26.COV2.S.

Ad26.COV2.S is currently in phase 1/2 testing in the U.S. and Belgium. The J&J vaccine was chosen for accelerated development as part of the U.S. government’s Operation Warp Speed initiative.

J&J aims to produce more than 1 billion doses of its vaccine through this deal and other similar deals. It entered into an agreement in July with Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions for a supply of drug substances for the vaccine.