Johnson & Johnson, U.S. government expand pact to support next phase of COVID-19 vaccine R&D

FILE PHOTO: Signs directing arriving patients are shown at a trailer compound after a Phase 3 trial location of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen (COVID-19) vaccine candidate was announced in National City during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in National City, California, U.S., October 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N> and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have expanded an agreement to support the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine candidate research and development, the company said on Saturday.

Under the agreement the company will commit approximately $604 million and the HHS Department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will commit about $454 million to support the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial evaluating Janssen's investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate as a single dose in up to 60,000 volunteers worldwide, the company said in a statement

(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis)