TOKYO (Reuters) – Drug dealer AstraZeneca PLC said on Friday that it has applied for approval in Japan for its COVID-19 vaccine, leaving it as the second pharmaceutical company to do so after Pfizer Inc.
The Japanese government signed in December a contract to receive 120 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, enough for 60 million people. The company is seeking special approval for the vaccine and plans to submit more data to regulators in March, it said in a statement.
The AstraZeneca element is an essential part of the government’s inoculation plan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for this summer: the doses are mostly made in Japan, and do not have to be kept in refrigeration at the extreme cold temperature required for the Pfizer formula.
AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine with Oxford University, began clinical trials in Japan last summer, recruiting 256 volunteers.
Japan has acquired rights to at least 564 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Western developers, the largest in Asia and more than enough for its 126 million figure.
But Japan has lagged behind other key economies in starting their COVID-19 inoculation campaign, partly because of its reliance on overseas manufacturers and the need for testing. home clinics for all vaccine applicants.
Reciting with Kiyoshi Takenaka and Rocky Swift; Edited by Tom Hogue and Kenneth Maxwell