Japan to purchase 150 million doses of Novavax’s Covid vaccine
Supply deal with Takeda to begin distribution in early 2022, pending shot approval
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) will be buying 150 million doses of the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine candidate (known as TAK-019 in Japan) manufactured in Japan by Takeda. The deal is subject to licensing and approval, as the potential vaccine is still undergoing development.
The details of the terms and conditions of the agreement are remaining confidential.
After previously reaching an agreement with Novavax this past August, Takeda is creating the capability to manufacture TAK-019 (known outside Japan as NVX-CoV2373) at its facilities in Japan and aims to begin distribution in early 2022. Novavax is licensing and transferring manufacturing technologies in order for Takeda to manufacture the vaccine antigen, and is supplying the Matrix-M adjuvant to Takeda for fill-finish, together with the antigen.
Takeda is responsible for the Japanese clinical trial and regulatory submission to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), and will distribute TAK-019 in Japan, should it be approved by the MHLW.
