Zoetis canine coronavirus vaccine

TOKYO -- JCR Pharmaceuticals Co said on Thursday it would build a new plant in Japan to expand production of ingredients for COVID-19 vaccines over the longer term. JCR Pharma along with Daiichi Sankyo Co and other Japanese partners are cooperating to produce and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University. The Japanese government has arranged to buy 120 million doses of the vaccine, which was submitted to domestic regulators for approval on Feb. 5. JCR Pharma said in a statement that it has been making bulk substances for the vaccine at an existing plant but will build another one to comply with government requirements. The Japanese drugmaker signed a contract in December to make substances for the AstraZeneca vaccine. But as a condition for a government grant to reinforce the country’s vaccine production capability through 2030, it needed to build another facility. JCR said it will spend about 11.6 billion yen ($108.28 million) to build the facility in Kobe City, western Japan, with construction due to start in July and finish by October 2022. The AstraZeneca vaccine is a critical component in Japan’s inoculation plan, as the doses will be made mostly in the country, and don’t need to be stored at the ultra-cold temperatures required for Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine. Japan kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign in the middle of February using Pfizer’s vaccine, the first to be approved by Japanese regulators. But the Pfizer doses have been imported from European factories and are in short supply. Local media has reported that Moderna Inc will file for approval of its vaccine as early as Friday via its Japanese partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. …

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The survey notes that the global economy contracted by around 4.5 percent in 2020, the biggest fall in global activity in several decades. Having recovered from lockdown-imposed weakness in the first half of the year, many economies again faced weakness as a second wave of COVID infections triggered renewed lockdowns. The survey envisions a steady recovery this year, but continued uncertainty limits the bounce in consumer and busines confidence, with pre-crisis output not being reached until mid-2022. The survey also indicates that the Global orders, employment and capital investment indices recorded a further modest improvement, but still point to activity well below the pre-crisis level in the fourth quarter of 2019. The “fear” indices which means the concern about customers and suppliers going out of business, edged lower in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 but remain elevated, clearly underlining the extreme uncertainty in the global economic outlook at the start of 2021. At the same time, inflation concerns remain negligible with concern about costs staying close to an all-time low. “Last year was the worst for the global economy for several decades,” said Warner Johnston, Head of ACCA USA. “2021 will see recovery, but precisely when and how strong it will be is very uncertain. We anticipate a weak start, followed by a recovery gathering momentum through the second half. Much depends on the evolution of the COVID virus and variants relative to the progress of vaccination programs, and there is great uncertainty surrounding these developments.” Agreed with this points, Raef Lawson, IMA vice president of research and policy analysed the policy responses to the pandemic that have left public finances of most economies in a perilous state with budget deficits in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent of GDP in many countries with debt to GDP ratios well over 100 percent. In North America, confidence dropped in Q4, having jumped by the most on record in Q3. …

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The Vietnamese Consulate General in Preah Sihanouk has called on Vietnamese-Cambodians and Vietnamese people working in the province to be cautious given the local spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The Vietnamese Consulate General in Preah Sihanouk has called on Vietnamese-Cambodians and Vietnamese people working in the province to be cautious given the local spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, while following prevention and control measures set by authorities, in particular reducing travel in the current context. The Consulate General has also suggested relevant agencies in the province provide the best care for Vietnamese citizens who tested positive to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the locality. When help is required, Vietnamese-Cambodians and Vietnamese citizens in Preah Sihanouk can contact the Consulate General via its consular service hotline on 0882 248 888 or the overseas Vietnamese affairs hotline on 0977 988 666. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the night of March 3 instructed competent authorities to stop people’s movement out of Preah Sihanouk in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to other provinces, according to the Khmer Times. He also advised boosting vaccinations in the coastal province, underlining that more vaccines, both Sinopharm and AstraZeneca, would be sent there on March 4. Since the third wave of COVID-19 hit Cambodia on February 20, Preah Sihanouk has recorded 80 cases, comprising 60 Chinese, five Vietnamese, and 15 Cambodians./. VNA …

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