Arnold & Porter Advises AstraZeneca in Global Funding, Development and Distribution of Potential COVID-19 Vaccine

Arnold & Porter represented AstraZeneca in agreements for the funding and global distribution of the University of Oxford's potential COVID-19 vaccine by mid-2021. In connection, the firm has also represented AstraZeneca in the establishment of its global manufacturing and supply chain for this vaccine. Through execution of these agreements, AstraZeneca has taken the next steps in its commitment to broad and equitable global access to the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine throughout the world, at no profit during the pandemic.

Arnold & Porter has been assisting AstraZeneca with a number of aspects related to the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine including:

• Agreements with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), to support the manufacturing, procurement and distribution of vaccine to the ACT Accelerator.
• An agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to support the manufacturing, procurement and distribution of vaccine specifically allocated for low and middle-income countries starting by the end of 2020.
• An award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), for the development, production and delivery of vaccine to the United States.
• An agreement with the governments of Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, which are purchasing the vaccine for distribution through the Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA).
• Manufacturing and supply chain agreements with a number of contract manufacturers around the world.

The multidisciplinary Arnold & Porter team was led by partners Kristen Riemenschneider and Derek Stoldt, and included lawyers in offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Kristen Riemenschneider stated, "We are very proud to have supported AstraZeneca in its efforts to ramp up for rapid manufacture and distribution of its potential COVID vaccine."

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