US pharma firms speed up work on coronavirus vaccine: Donald Trump

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Some of the American pharmaceutical companies have speed up their work towards finding a vaccine for the new coronavirus strain, President Donald Trump said on Monday, ahead of a meeting with executives of drug companies. "I'm meeting with the pharmaceutical companies later on this afternoon. We have a big meeting with the biggest companies...we're talking about a vaccine... maybe a cure; it's possible. So, we'll see about that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House.

"We're talking about a vaccine. They are moving along very quickly. All pharmaceutical companies are moving along very quickly," he said.

The US so far has reported 80 cases of infection and two deaths from COVID-19, which was first detected in China in December.

The US, Trump said, is working with other countries to find vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

"We're working very much with a lot of other countries on -- including Colombia -- but we're working with a lot of other countries on helping them with respect to this problem. And, again, we're doing very well," he said in the presence of his Columbian counterpart.

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