Johnson & Johnson Set To Produce 900 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses

The company Johnson & Johnson has set a goal to produce between 600 million and 900 million doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine by the end of March 2021 if human trials (scheduled to begin in September) are successful. On Tuesday, April 14, 2020, during a post-earnings conference call, J&J executives told investors they plan to manufacture 1 billion doses or more each year.

In late March, Johnson & Johnson said human testing of its trial vaccine for coronavirus will start by September with the possibility that it could be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021.

In an effort to co-fund vaccine research, Johnson & Johnson committed more than $1 billion of investment in partnership with the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (a part of the Department of Health and Human Services).

On the same day as announcing their plans for vaccine manufacturing, J&J CEO Alex Gorsky made it clear to investors that the company would provide the vaccine on a “not-for-profit” basis under the circumstances of emergency use.

The genesis for human trial testing of a potential COVID-19 vaccine began on March 16. The biotech firm Moderna, which commenced these tests, is working with the National Institute of Health, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.