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UK buys more potential COVID-19 vaccines from J&J and Novavax

Britain will buy potential COVID-19 vaccines from US drugmakers Johnson & Johnson and Novavax Inc, the companies said on Friday (14), bringing the total number of deals by the UK government to six as the race for shots heats up.

Johnson & Johnson said its Janssen Pharmaceutica unit will supply the UK government with its candidate known as Ad26.COV2.S with an initial sale of 30 million doses on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use.

The advance purchase agreement will also provide an option for an additional purchase of up to a 22 million doses, it said.


In a separate statement, Novavax said the UK would buy 60 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, NVX-CoV2373, for a phase 3 clinical trial.

With six deals each so far, Britain and the US are leading the global race to strike deals with drugmakers for vaccines as the pandemic continues to rage.

The latest agreements bring the UK's total number of doses secured to 362 million for the population of 66 million.

J&J said it has also agreed to collaborate with the UK government on a global Phase 3 trial to explore the two-dose regimen of its vaccine candidate.

It will run parallel to the Phase 3 trial investigating the single-dose programme.

No vaccine has yet proven to work, but more than 20 candidates are in clinical trials.

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5 key reasons why UK is losing its billionaires while global rich-list grows 300 per cent
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5 key reasons from Knight Franks' wealth report on why the UK is losing its billionaires

  • Global ultra-wealthy population jumps over 300 per cent since 2021
  • UK billionaire count drops to 156, biggest fall in 37 years
  • Policy shifts, mobility and weaker investment appeal drive the change

A fresh global wealth snapshot shows just how sharply fortunes are rising. The number of individuals worth at least $30m (£22m) has surged from 162,191 in 2021 to 713,626 now, an increase of more than 300 per cent, according to analysis by Knight Frank. The billionaire population, currently at 3,110, is projected to grow by 25 per cent to 3,915 by 2031.

This rapid expansion is being fuelled largely by technology-led wealth creation. As Liam Bailey of Knight Frank reportedly said in a news report, the ability to scale businesses faster, particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence, is accelerating how quickly large fortunes are built.

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