Covaxx inks supply deals worth $2.8B in lead-up to coronavirus vaccine midstage trials

While some of the leading players in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine are racing toward the finish line, a range of smaller challengers is still hoping to carve out a market niche in the coming months. One of those, New York's Covaxx, is rolling out its first swath of supply deals—and touting its shot's logistics advantage. Covaxx has inked a trio of deals with three South American nations to provide up to 140 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine at a price tag of $2.8 billion as the drugmaker prepares to enter phase 2/3 testing later this year. Brazil, Ecuador and Peru have all signed on to receive Covaxx's shot, dubbed UB-612, pending regulatory approval. Covaxx is ramping up production to produce 100 million doses in the first half of 2021 and then make a massive leap to churn out 1 billion doses by the end of the year.