OTTAWA: Canada has signed a deal with Cambridge-based AstraZeneca PLC to buy up to 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

Trudeau also told a news conference that Ottawa would invest C$440 million ($328 million) in the COVID-19 vaccine Global Access Facility, a global procurement mechanism designed to help deliver fair, equitable and timely access to vaccines.

Canada has already struck agreements for a total of around 300 million doses of vaccine candidates from Pfizer Inc, Novavax Inc, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline Plc , Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

The AstraZeneca medication is among the leading candidates in the global race for a vaccine, now in late-stage trials in Britain, South Africa and elsewhere.

Trials were halted in early September after one participant developed a serious illness. The US trial remains paused, but others have resumed.