Keeping tabs on Covid-19: Roche and Regeneron join forces to boost vaccine supply and McKesson supports OWS team for future Covid-19 vaccines

As the pharma community continue to research and develop hundreds of potential therapies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, very few initiatives are yet to cross the finishing line into the commercial market. However, in this week’s round up, Pharma IQ shares promising news of a Covid-19 candidate collaboration between Roche and Regeneron that looks to boost manufacturing and delivery efforts to patients in need of a cure.

Roche and Regeneron join forces to increase global supply of an antibody cocktail for Covid-19

Roche and Regeneron have announced their partnership in the fight to develop, manufacture and distribute REGN-COV2, Regeneron's investigational anti-viral antibody cocktail, to people around the globe.

Regeneron claims REGN-COV2, which is currently being studied in two Phase 2/3 clinical trials, provides a much-needed treatment option for Covid-19 that has the potential to prevent infection and thus slow down the spread of the pandemic on a global scale.

Roche and Regeneron forecast their collaboration will increase the supply of REGN-COV2 to at least three and a half times the current capacity, with the potential for even further expansion.

Bill Anderson, chief executive officer of Roche Pharmaceuticals, said: “We are excited about the potential for one medicine to serve both as a treatment for those infected as well as protection for people exposed to the virus. REGN-COV2 could be a critical line of defense against the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Under the terms of the agreement, both companies have committed to dedicate a certain manufacturing capacity to REGN-COV2 each year, and the collaborators have already begun the technology transfer process, claimed a spokesperson from Regeneron.

McKesson supports OWS to centralize distributor of future Covid-19 vaccines

McKesson Corporation has expanded its existing partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to support the US government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) team in order to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine and related supplies to point of care sites across the US. 

The CDC has an existing contract with McKesson to support distribution as part of the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program and includes an option for distribution of vaccines in the event of a pandemic. McKesson is utilizing its expertise and capabilities to support the CDC’s efforts to vaccinate everyone in the US who wants a Covid-19 vaccine.

Brian Tyler, chief executive officer of McKesson, said: “Since the onset of the pandemic, McKesson has leveraged its deep expertise to help maintain the integrity of the healthcare supply chain, source and distribute personal protective equipment to frontline workers and stand up Covid-19 testing at Health Mart pharmacies, many in underserved communities.

“We are honored that the US government has asked McKesson to play a key role in the effort to distribute Covid-19 vaccines,” Tyler added.

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