(Reuters) – AstraZeneca Plc on Thursday signed a manufacturing deal with privately held Albany Molecular Research Inc to produce millions of doses of the British drugmaker’s experimental coronavirus vaccine annually.
The contract drug manufacturer and research company said the agreeement will help bolster supply of the vaccine through sterile finishing services at its manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Albany Molecuar did not disclose the terms of the deal, while AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
AstraZeneca has been scaling up production of the vaccine candidate, mainly through deals such as its expanded agreement with cell therapy firm Oxford Biomedica to mass-produce its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Albany Molecular in 2017 agreed to be taken private by buyout firms Carlyle Group and GTCR LLC for about $922 million in cash.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
