Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said the company had already started to manufacture the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine to ensure, if it does pass human trials, it can be made available in the autumn.
It comes as trials of the potential vaccine have started in Brazil, the new epicentre of the pandemic, to ensure the study can be properly tested as transmission rates fall in the UK.
Mr Soriot told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are starting to manufacture this vaccine right now.
“And we have to have it ready to be used by the time we have the results.
“And of course, with this decision comes a risk but it is a financial risk and that financial risk is that if the vaccine doesn’t work, and we will find this out at the end of August, then all the materials, all the vaccines we have manufactured will be wasted.”
He said AstraZeneca would make no profit from the supply of the vaccine, adding: “We felt that there are times in life that corporations need to step up and contribute to resolving a big problem like this one, so decided to do it at no profit.”
Oxford University along with Imperial College London are in advanced stages of testing a vaccine with experts at Porton Down in the UK.
The Government has set aside millions of pounds for the development and production of a vaccine.
