The Japanese government is expected to soon reach a deal with British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc on receiving a supply of over 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine being developed with the University of Oxford, a source close to the matter said Friday.

The drugmaker has announced that it will start supplying its COVID-19 vaccine overseas in September, and is expected to begin clinical trials in Japan later this month to confirm its efficacy and safety.

Japan has agreed to receive a supply of 120 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine for 60 million people by the end of June next year from U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE., if they succeed in developing it.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire