Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza said on Monday that a plant owned by US group Catalent in Italy will help manufacture the future COVID-19 vaccine being produced by drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.

During a site visit in Anagni, a town 70 km from the Italian capital Rome, the minister said,

“It is today’s news that the vaccine Johnson & Johnson is working on will also be completed here.”

The plan to produce the potential Italian vaccine represents an expansion of an existing agreement between the two American companies.

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New Jersey-based Catalent signed an agreement with J&J in April to provide services for vial-filling and packaging at its Bloomington, Indiana facility.

Catalent also handles filling and finishing services for AstraZeneca’s project of creating a COVID-19 vaccine at its Anagni factory.

It plans to handle the British drugmaker hundreds of millions of doses beginning as early as August 2020 and likely going up to March 2022.