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The vaccination contract between the EU and Biontech / Pfizer is closed. The Commission formally approved the agreement. Companies are already promising the first deliveries by the end of the year.
The European Union can buy up to 300 million doses of the promising crown vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer. In the morning, the EU Commission gave the green light to the framework agreement with the two companies. Germany and the other EU countries have the right to acquire rights for the vaccine as soon as it receives approval.
In a statement, Biontech and Pfizer announced that the supply agreement with the EU has been concluded. It includes 200 million doses of vaccines and the option to buy another 100 million. The companies plan to begin deliveries by the end of 2020. The prerequisite is that clinical success is confirmed and the authorities grant approval.
Biontech and Pfizer announced Monday that their vaccine offered more than 90 percent protection against Covid-19. However, the studies are still ongoing. They announced a request for approval in the US for next week at the earliest. Approval is also sought in Europe. The vaccine is manufactured to Biontech specifications at the production facilities in Germany and Belgium.
Biontech for the fair distribution of vaccines
The Mainz company, Biontech, had previously countered fears that the vaccine developed with the US company Pfizer could initially be preferentially distributed in the US “We have agreed with Pfizer that we will distribute the vaccine evenly and fairly.” Biontech CFO Sierk Poetting told the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” and the “Stuttgarter Zeitung”. His company “definitely doesn’t want lots to be unfairly inflated in individual regions,” Poetting emphasized. That is why Biontech made it important that a large part of the vaccine could be manufactured in Europe. “We will decide the distribution together with Pfizer,” emphasized the CFO.
Also agreements with other pharmaceutical companies
The Commission concludes contracts with vaccine manufacturers on behalf of the member states. So far there have been three firm agreements with suppliers Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi-GSK and AstraZeneca. Pfizer-Biontech is the fourth firm supply contract. Brussels also concluded preliminary talks with manufacturers CureVac and Moderna.
If all these plans are implemented, the EU can theoretically expect up to 1.7 billion doses of vaccine, with 400 million doses planned as options. However, so far no vaccine has been approved in the EU. It is also uncertain whether all developments will lead to success. In most cases, two doses of vaccine are needed to protect yourself.
