AstraZeneca deal for 400 million doses of possible vaccine.

LONDON — Drug maker AstraZeneca said Thursday that it had secured its first agreements for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it is testing, bolstered by an investment from the U.S. vaccine agency.

The Anglo-Swedish company reported it had received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for the development, production and delivery of the vaccine, starting this fall.

The investment will accelerate the development and production of the vaccine, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said. It had already joined forces with the British government and is in discussions with the Serum Institute of India and other potential partners to increase production and distribution.

“We will do everything in our power to make this vaccine quickly and widely available,” Soriot said.

Pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna and Sanofi, are racing to develop and produce a vaccine against the new coronavirus as experts say it will be crucial to allowing countries to ease their lockdowns and restrictions on public life.

In a statement as markets opened, AstraZeneca said it has now secured manufacturing capacity for 1 billion doses and aims to secure further agreements to expand capacity further over the next months “to ensure the delivery of a globally accessible vaccine.”

AstraZeneca also finalized its license agreement with Oxford University for the vaccine, now known as AZD1222. The vaccine was developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, working with the Oxford Vaccine Group.

Testing of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine began in Britain in April with more than 1,000 people. Data from the trial is expected soon.

“AstraZeneca recognizes that the vaccine may not work,” the statement said, “but is committed to progressing the clinical program with speed and scaling up manufacturing at risk.”

Lawrence Young, a professor of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, said the development was important in planning for the equitable supply of the vaccine worldwide. But he said other vaccine candidates should be explored. “It is jumping the gun as we don’t know that this vaccine will work.”