J&J reaches $1B deal with US for COVID-19 vaccine, 100M experimental doses

US government can opt to purchase an additional 200M doses

Johnson & Johnson announced Wednesday it will develop and deliver 100 million doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine to the U.S. in a deal with the government valued at more than $1 billion.

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The agreement is through BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company's SARS-CoV-2 investigational vaccine, will be provided at a "global not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use," the pharmaceutical giant said. The U.S. government can opt to purchase an additional 200 million doses, according to the announcement.

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"We are scaling up production in the U.S. and worldwide to deliver a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for emergency use,” said Dr. Paul Stoffels, Johnson & Johnson's chief scientific officer.

The government has been backing the company's efforts to develop a vaccine since earlier this year with an investment of $456 million, according to Reuters.

Just last week, the company initiated the first human clinical trials of its vaccine candidate in the U.S. and Belgium. The pre-clinical data has already indicated that the company's "SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate generated a strong antibody response and provided protection with a single dose," Stoffels said in an earlier statement.

The company aims to supply more than one billion doses globally through the course of 2021 as long as the vaccine is safe and effective.

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Pre-clinical studies were conducted by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in collaboration with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson in an effort to "accelerate the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine," the company said.

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Moderna and Novavax, two other companies developing potential vaccines, also reported ongoing positive developments in the race for a treatment.

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Fox News' Kayla Rivas contributed to this report