Drugmakers across the globe are rushing to develop a treatment or vaccine for the fast-spreading coronavirus that has killed over 68,400 people globally.Initial focus will be to accelerate development of Vir's investigational treatments, VIR-7831 and VIR-7832, the companies said.Experts have said it could take 12 months to 18 months to develop a coronavirus vaccine.
The equity investment from GSK is priced at US$37.73 per Vir share, a 10% premium to the stock's Friday close. GSK has so far focused on providing adjuvants, efficacy boosters that play a vital role in many vaccines, as part of its efforts to find potential vaccines against the coronavirus. This is California-based Vir's second partnership with a major drugmaker for the development of a potential coronavirus treatment, having last month signed a letter of intent with Biogen Inc. - Reuters