AstraZeneca, Oxford Jenner Institute, vaccine, AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), CEPI, BARDA, GAVI

(September 29, 2018) Vaccitech licenses MERS rights to Oxford University
CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) today announced a collaboration with The Jenner Institute
at the University of Oxford and Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V.—part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
—through which they will receive funding to advance the development and manufacture of a vaccine against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Oxford has already initiated clinical development of the MERS-CoV vaccine,
with funding from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, and a phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine is underway in the UK.
Under the terms of the Framework Partnering Agreement for the collaboration, Oxford and Janssen will receive $14.6 million from CEPI
to support manufacturing of a phase 2 batch and preparation for stockpiling of a MERS-CoV vaccine candidate.
Oxford will undertake phase 2 testing of the vaccine, in partnership with the King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC) in Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme at Kilifi, Kenya.
[link to www.vaccitech.co.uk (secure)]

(July 4, 2019) Machine Learning is Transforming Drug Discovery at AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca has been experimenting with machine learning across all stages of research and development, and most recently in pathology
to speed up the review of tissue samples. AstraZeneca uses Amazon SageMaker Ground Truth
—a machine learning-powered, human-in-the-loop data labeling and annotation service—to automate
some of the most tedious portions of this work, resulting in reduction of time spent cataloging samples by 50 percent.
“We want to unlock all the hidden potential in the data and research we’re already doing,” says Goodwin.
“It’s the start of a broad change in our business—using all of this imaging and molecular data along with AI to develop a holistic approach,
one that lets our scientists interact and interpret the data in ways that have never been possible.”
[link to www.wired.com (secure)]

(April 30, 2020) AstraZeneca Joins U. of Oxford and Spinout to Develop COVID-19 Vaccine
AstraZeneca will oversee global development, manufacturing, and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine
candidate that was created by researchers at University of Oxford, and is now being studied in a human clinical trial
launched last week, the partners said today. AstraZeneca, the University, and its spinout company Vaccitech
which has joint rights to the platform technology behind the vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19—said
they will start work immediately while hammering out final terms of their collaboration agreement.
According to AstraZeneca, vaccines made from the ChAdOx1 virus
have been given to more than 320 people to date and have been shown
to be safe and well tolerated—although they can cause temporary side effects
such as a temperature, flu-like symptoms, headache or sore arm, the company acknowledged.
[link to www.genengnews.com (secure)]

(May 21, 2020) U.S. Raises Ante in Vaccine Race With $1.2 Billion for Astra
The U.S. threw its weight behind one of the fastest-moving experimental solutions
to the coronavirus pandemic, pledging as much as $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca Plc
to help make the University of Oxford’s Covid vaccine.
The U.K. drugmaker received the money from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
and said it has secured capacity to make 1 billion doses. Astra has identified supply chains in the U.S. and U.K., according to Soriot.
Soriot said Astra is working with groups including the World Health Organization,
the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations(CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,
on making sure the vaccine is allocated fairly so that poorer countries have access.
The company has supply agreements for 400 million doses.
[link to www.bloomberg.com (secure)]

(May 28, 2020) AstraZeneca locks up COVID-19 vaccine supply with Oxford BioMedica production deal
AstraZeneca is on the hook for millions of doses of the University of Oxford's front-runner COVID-19 vaccine candidate,
assuming it proves effective. To fill those orders, the British drugmaker has agreed to a short-term manufacturing deal
that will help it bridge the gap. AstraZeneca and Oxford BioMedica inked a one-year deal covering "multiple batches" of the University of Oxford's adenovirus-based
COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), as part of a consortium aimed at speeding production of the shot.
The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
[link to www.fiercepharma.com (secure)]

(June 7, 2020) AstraZeneca Approaches Gilead About Potential Merger
AstraZeneca Plc has made a preliminary approach to rival drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. about a potential merger,
according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest health-care deal on record.
The U.K.-based firm informally contacted Gilead last month to gauge its interest in a possible tie-up,
the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
AstraZeneca didn’t specify terms for any transaction, they said.
AstraZeneca, valued at $140 billion, is the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker by market capitalization
and has developed treatments for conditions from cancer to cardiovascular disease.
Gilead, worth $96 billion at Friday’s close, is the creator of a drug (remdesivir)
that’s received U.S. approval for use with coronavirus patients.
[link to www.bloomberg.com (secure)]

(June 11, 2020) Emergent BioSolutions signs deal to make AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Emergent BioSolutions Inc said on Thursday it signed an $87 million deal to make AstraZeneca Plc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine
in the United States, boosting the British drugmaker's efforts to bring a vaccine to the market.
The deal comes weeks after the United States pledged up to $1.2 billion to secure 300 million doses
of AstraZeneca's vaccine, which is among the first to move into mid-stage trials.
Emergent, which has also signed a deal with Johnson & Johnson
to make its COVID-19 vaccine, said it would reserve some of its large-scale manufacturing
capacity through 2020 for AstraZeneca.
[link to www.jpost.com (secure)]