The U.S. government has reached a deal with Johnson & Johnson to secure 100 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine. JNJ stock is up.
American multinational corporation Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) revealed its plans to develop and deliver 100 million doses of its anti-COVID vaccine for the U.S. in a deal that could be worth over $1 billion, according to the official statement. J&J vaccine candidate Ad26.COV2.S should begin late-stage human trials before the company previously planned – already in September. This deal offers the U.S. the option to order an additional 200 million doses, according to the announcement
Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said:
“We are scaling up production in the U.S. and worldwide to deliver a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for emergency use.”
Meanwhile, at the time of writing, JNJ stock was rising in the pre-market by 0.53% to $149.18 after climbing 0.80% yesterday.
Focusing on Providing Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Globally
The thing is that the U.S. government had already given Johnson & Johnson $456 million in order to make its vaccine in an alliance with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA. The company explained its main focus is on supplying more than one billion doses globally in 2021.
The doses will be free to all American citizens if they’re used in a Covid-19 vaccination campaign, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a separate press release. However, health-care professionals could charge for the cost of administering the vaccine, HHS said.
According to the statement, Janssen Pharmaceutical, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, is developing the vaccine.
Be it as it may, J&J is only one of the many companies that have made an arrangement with the U.S. in order to supply their potential coronavirus medicine after they get federal approval. The U.S. also said last week it will pay drugmaker Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline up to $2.1 billion to develop and deliver 100 million doses of their potential vaccine.
The U.S. obviously wants to be the first to have this vaccine so it pays almost any company that asked for help just to be sure it will keep it inside its borders. It also pledged to pay Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine if it proves safe and effective, the companies announced in late July.
J&J’s vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S, is using the same technology it used to make its experimental Ebola vaccine, which was provided to people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2019.
Increasing Its Full-Year Guidance
Last month, Johnson & Johnson reported their quarterly earnings according to which sales of $18.3 billion reflected a decline of 10.8%, an operational decline of 9.0% and an adjusted operational decline of 8.8%, primarily driven by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPS stood at $1.36 and has decreased 34.6% while the adjusted EPS stood at $1.6, meaning it fell by 35.3%. According to the company, 2019 included a gain from the sale of Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) business. The company, however, increased its full-year sales and EPS guidance.
Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, admitted that their Q2 results reflect the impact of COVID-19 and the enduring strength of our Pharmaceutical business, where the company saw continued growth even in this environment.
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