Takeda to supply 50 mil. coronavirus vaccine doses in Japan in 2021

TOKYO. KAZINFORM - Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it plans to supply 50 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine, developed by U.S. drugmaker Moderna Inc., in Japan from the first half of next year, Kyodo News reports.

The Japanese drugmaker said it will provide the vaccine based on a three-way agreement with Moderna and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare once the vaccine has been approved.

Takeda said Moderna's Phase 3 clinical trial has completed enrollment of 30,000 participants in the United States. The health ministry said the doses of the vaccine to be distributed by Takeda will cover 25 million people in Japan, as two shots are needed for it to be effective against the novel coronavirus.

The Japanese government has already agreed with British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to receive 120 million doses of any successfully developed vaccine from each company.

Takeda is also preparing to produce and sell in Japan a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by U.S. biotechnology firm Novavax Inc.

«We have chosen to work with Novavax and Moderna, both of which have promising vaccine candidates, and will continue to support the global response to COVID-19,» said Rajeev Venkayya, president of the global vaccine business unit at Takeda.