Japan to locally produce AstraZeneca vaccine
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 02:13 | 28 January 2021
- Modified Date: 02:13 | 28 January 2021
Japan on Thursday confirmed it will locally produce a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Britain's pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca .
Speaking at a news conference in the capital Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said: "Yesterday, we received a report […] from AstraZeneca, informing us that it will aim to manufacture over 90 million doses within Japan."
Japan had signed a deal with AstraZeneca to acquire 120 million doses of the vaccine.
According to Kyodo news agency, 75% of all AstraZeneca vaccines will be manufactured in Japan.
Japanese JCR Pharmaceuticals based in western Hyogo province is expected to be the partner of AstraZeneca.
Japan has reported a total of 378,274 coronavirus cases, including over 5,400 deaths.
US drugmaker Pfizer has also applied for the approval of its vaccine in Japan.