J&J deal with Aspen to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine in Africa
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced the completion of a landmark agreement between its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals and South Africa’s largest drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare (JSE: APN) to enable the first COVID-19 vaccine to be manufactured and made available by an African company for people living in Africa, with the goal of increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates across the continent.
Aspen’s shares were up more than 4% at 18,259 rands following the announcement.
Expanding global vaccination coverage is critically important to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and reducing the risk of emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Currently, only about 12% of people in Africa are fully vaccinated, which is well below the World Health Organization's target of 70% population coverage for all countries.
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