BY ANKUR BANERJEE
The Trump administration has selected five companies as the most likely candidates to produce a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing senior officials.
The five companies are Moderna, the combination of Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co Inc and Pfizer Inc, according to the paper.
There is no approved vaccine for COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus.
Drugmakers racing to develop a vaccine and not selected by the Trump administration, according to the NYT, include French drugmaker Sanofi, U.S. biotech Novavax Inc and Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The announcement of the decision will be made at the White House in the next few weeks, the NYT report said, citing officials.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
