US company COVAXX, currently conducting Phase 1 clinical trials of its Covid vaccine, UB-612, in Taiwan, has signed a logistics partnership with Maersk for global distribution once the vaccine has been approved by regulatory authorities.
The agreement lays out a framework for all transportation and supply chain services that will be needed to deliver the vaccine around the world.
COVAXX has an agreement with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to conduct Phase 2 trials in the United States, upon regulatory approval. The company has advanced pre-commitments for over 100 million doses of UB-612 around the globe. In September it announced an agreement with Dasa, the largest diagnostic medical company in Brazil, to conduct a large-scale human efficacy clinical trial in that country.
The agreement with Maersk provides for end-to-end supply chain management, packing and shipping via air or ocean, ground transportation, warehouse storage, and distribution to facilities to support COVAXX’s requirements for a pharmaceutical grade, temperature-controlled supply chain. The developer is planning to manufacture 100 million doses of UB-612 during early 2021, and a billion doses by the end of 2021. The design of the vaccine components will allow for the use of existing cold-chain storage and distribution channels, as the vaccine does not require additional infrastructure such as -80⁰C freezers or liquid nitrogen tanks to store materials at extreme temperatures.
“The COVAXX vaccine is unique in that it can be stored in the fridge you have at home, moved in the same trucks that deliver groceries, and administered anywhere you can get a flu shot,” said Lou Reese the company’s co-chief executive officer.
