Johnson and Johnson applies to WHO for Emergency Use Listing of Covid-19 vaccine

"Our filing with the World Health Organization marks another important step in our effort to combat COVID-19 and also in our unwavering commitment to equitable access," said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson. "If we are to end the global pandemic, life-saving innovations like vaccines must be within reach for all countries."

The EUL procedure streamlines the process by which new or unlicensed products can be assessed for use during public health emergencies by governments and UN procurement agencies. The EUL process expedites access to such products in many countries around the world and is also a prerequisite to supply vaccines to the new COVAX Facility, a global mechanism for pooled procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in 190 participating countries, including 92 lower-income countries.

In December 2020, the Company entered into an agreement in principle with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) in support of the COVAX Facility. The Company and Gavi expect to enter into an Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) that would provide up to 500 million doses of the Janssen vaccine to COVAX through 2022.

"The Company is committed to ensuring global access to its COVID-19 vaccine candidate on a not-for-profit basis during the acute phase of the pandemic", the release stated.

In September 2020, Johnson & Johnson joined other life sciences companies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in signing an unprecedented communiqué which outlined a steadfast commitment to facilitating equitable access to the innovations being developed to fight the pandemic.