Before last week, AstraZeneca was watching with the rest of the world as researchers at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute began pushing their Covid-19 vaccine in development into the public eye. And then Mene Pangalos, the EVP of biopharma R&D, talked to John Bell, an Oxford professor, and longtime friend. Within days, they sketched the outlines of a collaboration unveiled today that gives AstraZeneca a central role in the global development, manufacturing, and distribution of the vaccine — should the Phase I/II results come back positive in the summer.