In an effort to streamline the vaccine development process, the United States has been working alongside multiple biotechs and pharmaceuticals under a plan called Operation Warp Speed (O.W.S.). The goal of O.W.S. is to accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2. The plan ultimately wants to deliver 300 million doses of a provenly safe and effective vaccine by January 2021.
To follow through with this goal, the Trump administration is working with vaccine candidates from companies like AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN)/BioNTech (NASDAQ: BTNX), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), along with purchasing agreements with several others. Yet, health experts have warned that the development of a vaccine that is safe and effective for public use can take at least 12 to 18 months, if not longer.
U.S. regulators like the Food and Drug Administration have stated that they will not be taking shortcuts or fall to political pressure when approving a vaccine. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump has recently made claims that there will be a vaccine ready before the November presidential election. Dr. Anthony Fauci, top infectious disease expert, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that that will not be the case for the eventual coronavirus vaccine.
"We have assurances, and I've discussed this with the regulatory authorities, that they promise that they are not going to let political considerations interfere with regulatory decisions," Dr. Fauci stated. "We've spoken explicitly about that, because the subject obviously comes up, and the people in charge of the regulatory process assure us that safety and efficacy is going to be the prime consideration."
Fauci offered more of a conservative perspective on the coronavirus vaccine development timeline, stating that he is hopeful that there will be tens of millions of doses of a safe and effective vaccine in the early part of 2021.
Vaccine Update
Pharmaceutical Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced on Wednesday that it will develop and deliver 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate for the United States in a more than $1 billion deal. The deal, subject to regulatory approval of the potential vaccine, will also allow the U.S. government to purchase an additional 200 million doses. The company plans to produce more than 1 billion doses of its candidate through 2021 for global distribution.
Moderna announced on Wednesday that is will be offering a special "pandemic pricing" for its vaccine the will cost between $32-$37 per dose for some customers. CEO Stephane Bancel stated during a conference call discussing the company's second quarter earnings that that the vaccine will be priced below its value during the pandemic, only increasing to be in line with other commercial vaccines once the period of emergency is over.
"We are working with governments around the world and others to ensure a vaccine is accessible regardless of ability to pay," Bancel stated. "We're currently in a pandemic as defined by [World Health Organization]. At Moderna, like many experts, we believe the virus is not going away and there will be a need to vaccinate people or give them a boost for many years to come."
Contact Tracing
The state of Virginia has released its coronavirus contact tracing app, Covidwise, on Wednesday. The app is the first in the United States to use the technology built by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) to help maintain user privacy. The app is currently only available for use by Virginia residents.