US drugmaker Pfizer has signed a deal with Germany's BioNTech SE to co-develop a potential vaccine for the coronavirus.
The drugmakers will start the collaboration immediately and have signed a letter of intent for the vaccine's distribution outside China, they said in a joint statement.
The companies said they will finalise financial terms, and details regarding development, manufacturing and potential commercialisation of the vaccine over the next few weeks.
On Sunday it was reported that the German government was trying to stop the US from persuading CureVac, another German drugmaker working on an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus, to move its research to the United States.
Pfizer and BioNTech will use research and development sites from both companies, including in the United States and Germany, the companies said.
BioNTech yesterday struck a collaboration deal with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical over its rights in China to its experimental coronavirus vaccine, aiming to start testing onhumans from late April.
The race is on to develop an immunisation, which is seen as by far the most effective tool to halt the global spread of the pathogen.
Rival Moderna Inc, which is working with the US National Institutes of Health, announced yesterday that it dosed the first patient with its experimental coronavirus vaccine in an early-stage trial.
Pfizer already collaborates with BioNTech to develop vaccines for influenza.
The coronavirus outbreak has so far infected nearly 179,000 people globally and killed more than 7,000.
Several countries have imposed bans on mass gatherings such as sporting, cultural and religious events to combat the disease.
Meanwhile, at his daily coronavirus briefing, US President Donald Trump made reference to US pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland.
He was answering a question about access to medical devices.
"Ireland does a lot of work for us in that world, in the pharma world. A very tremendous producer," he said.
"We are looking to bring a lot more back home."
"We have to be able to take care of our country and that was one of the big things on the list," Mr Trump added.
According to IDA Ireland, 50%of ventilators used in acute hospitals worldwide are made in Ireland.
Exports of medical devices and diagnostic products represent 8% of Ireland's total merchandise exports.
In the past, President Trump has expressed his desire to see American companies move their foreign operations back to the US from countries like Ireland.
