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‘One type of agreement imposes an obligation on Member States to purchase doses of vaccine. (…) Another type of advance purchase agreement foresees only the possibility for Member States to buy vaccine doses, ”said A. Pranckevičius in an interview with BNS.
According to him, the need to buy vaccines was stipulated in a preliminary agreement with Astra-Zeneca and the possibility with Sanofi-GSK.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Arnoldas Pranckevičius
A.Pranckevičius also added that preparatory negotiations with four more manufacturers have been completed, but preliminary agreements have not yet been signed. Preparatory negotiations are underway to determine whether it would be appropriate to engage in detailed negotiations with manufacturers on a prior agreement.
The head of the EC Representation in Lithuania stated that at present “it is impossible to say what will be the price of all vaccines and what will be the price of one dose of vaccine”.
Asked how he values the doubts expressed by Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis about the reputation of the AstraZeneca company, A. Pranckevičius assured that “the European Commission strictly adheres to all the requirements of good financial management”.
The prime minister told a government meeting in early September that the information provided by the special services about AstraZeneca was contradictory. According to him, the company had received suspicions of possible bribery, in addition to distributing ineffective drugs, providing false prices and false information to the market.
– With how many vaccine manufacturers has the EC signed a pre-purchase agreement?
– The first agreement was reached with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for 300 million euros. possible purchase of doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with the possibility of acquiring another 100 million. dose as soon as the vaccine is confirmed to be safe and effective.
On September 18, the second agreement with Sanofi-GSK entered into force. Under this agreement, EU member states will be able to buy up to € 300 million. Dosage of the vaccine produced by Sanofi-GSK.
Preparatory negotiations with Johnson and Johnson for an initial amount of € 200 million have already been completed on behalf of all EU Member States. purchase of doses and possibility of acquiring another 200 million. doses, with CureVac for 225 million. purchase of doses, with Moderna for the initial 80 million. purchase of doses and possibility of acquiring another 80 million. and with BioNTech, Pfizer for a first dose purchase and the possibility of acquiring another 100 million. dose.
– Lithuanian politicians talk about negotiations with seven producers, but you mentioned six.
– The European Commission reports on the pre-recruitment agreements concluded and the preparatory negotiations that have been completed. As a result, there are currently two APAs at the EU level and four exploratory talks have been concluded.
– How many vaccines are provided to Lithuania under the current agreements?
– For some Member States, including Lithuania, the estimated number of vaccines depends on the population. The Joint Negotiating Group, which negotiates with pharmaceutical companies, is informed of the needs of the Member States. Furthermore, the negotiation process is closely supervised by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from all EU countries and the European Commission.
– For what amount would they be bought? What would be the maximum amount for Lithuania if all the agreements currently under discussion were signed?
– At this stage it is not possible to say what will be the cost of all vaccines and what will be the cost of one dose of vaccine. However, it is important to note that a large part of the total cost will be financed by the so-called Emergency Support Service.
Since a specific price per vaccine dose cannot be predicted at this stage, the maximum quantity cannot be said. It is very important for the European Commission to offer the vaccine at an affordable price. Furthermore, the price of the vaccine will be the same for all EU Member States.
Once the safety and efficacy of the vaccine have been confirmed and the European Medicines Agency has granted marketing authorization, Member States will be able to purchase the vaccines. The aim of the advance purchase agreements is to reserve sufficient doses of vaccines according to the needs of the Member States.
– Do the agreements with the manufacturers mean that Lithuania would have to purchase all the vaccines provided for the country under the contracts?
– Advance purchase agreements with pharmaceutical companies are of a double nature.
One type of agreement imposes an obligation on Member States to purchase vaccine doses. However, in this case, within five business days after the end of the agreement by the European Commission with the pharmaceutical company, the state can notify if it does not wish to participate in the contracting. The agreement will only be signed if at least four Member States are willing to comply with it.
Another type of advance purchase agreement only provides for the possibility for Member States to purchase doses of vaccine. In this case, the European Commission signs a pre-purchase agreement directly with the specific pharmaceutical company. When a vaccine is available, Member States can decide whether they want to buy vaccines.
– What type of agreements currently exist?
– A first type of forward purchase agreement was entered into with Astra-Zeneca and a second type of forward purchase agreement with Sanofi-GSK.
– What is the basis for deciding what type of agreements are being concluded?
– The nature of the agreements is agreed upon during negotiations with the company.
It is important to highlight that the objective of the European Commission is to protect public health and to close the best agreements with companies so that safe and effective vaccines can be purchased at an affordable price.
– Doesn’t the European Commission see the risk of a disproportionate supply and non-use of the vaccine through a compulsory purchase mechanism? How will this problem be solved?
– As I mentioned, there are two options for advance purchase agreements. Thus, the amount of vaccine doses to be purchased will depend on the agreement reached and the willingness of the states to participate or purchase vaccines.
– How does the EC assess the issues raised by the Government of Lithuania regarding the reputation of AstraZeneca? Don’t the EC themselves question the credibility of the company?
In this regard, it is important to note that the European Commission strictly adheres to all the requirements of sound financial management.
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Last week, the government decided that Lithuania and other European Union countries would participate in the procurement of the seven COVID-19 vaccines under development, which are being negotiated by the European Commission.
Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis later declared that the maximum amount Lithuania would have to pay for them could be around 125 million. euros. However, he stressed that Lithuania could sell the surplus to the Eastern Partnership countries.
According to the Prime Minister, the population would be vaccinated free of charge. According to him, the per capita vaccination, if it were necessary to buy the maximum amount, would cost about 40 euros, but that price is worth it, considering the cost of testing, treatment, losses in the economy.
According to S. Skvernelis, it may be necessary to pay for vaccines from the end of this year until the third quarter of next year.
At the end of August, the Lithuanian Minister of Health announced that, under the agreement with AstraZeca, it was planned to supply Lithuania with “just over 1.8 million doses of vaccines”.
Earlier, the government decided that Lithuania, through the European Commission, would seek to purchase coronavirus vaccines from manufacturers for 70 percent of the country’s population.
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