Coronavirus vaccines being developed by two companies reportedly received "fast track" designation from the U.S. drug agency.

U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Monday that the company and German biotech firm BioNTech are jointly developing the vaccines and two of the experimental candidates received the designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

According to Reuters, fast track is a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs and vaccines that are intended to treat or prevent serious conditions that have the potential to address an unmet medical need. 

The two companies reportedly said they expect to start a large trial with up to 30-thousand participants as soon as later this month, upon regulatory approval. 

They also expect to produce up to 100 million doses by the end of this year and potentially one-point-two billion doses by the end of next year if the vaccine is successful.