(Adds details from Gavi, CEPI statements, context)
June 4 (Reuters) - Britain's AstraZeneca will be
able to deliver 2 billion doses of its potential coronavirus
vaccine this year and next, double the previous numbers, thanks
to deals with the Serum Institute of India and two Bill
Gates-backed global health organisations.
The company, which has already agreed to supply 400 million
doses to the United States and British governments, said on
Thursday it had agreed terms with the Indian company, the
world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, to supply
one billion doses for low and middle-income countries.
AstraZeneca's partnership with Oxford University has
garnered international attention as one of the leading
coronavirus vaccine candidates, sealing more than $1 billion in
U.S. government funding last month as it ramps up testing of the
vaccine and manufacturing capacity.
It said it had also signed an agreement worth $750 million
with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
and GAVI vaccines alliance, both founded by Microsoft-founder
Gates and his wife, to produce 300 million doses of the vaccine.
GAVI said on Thursday it had raised $2 billion from
international donors for an Advanced Market Commitment to buy
future COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, including a $100
million commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Kate Kelland in
London; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Patrick Graham)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
