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The EU agreed to buy up to 300 million doses of the innovative coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, following widespread hopes that the jab will provide a route out of the pandemic.
Pfizer said deliveries were expected to begin at the end of the year, subject to the vaccine receiving regulatory approval from the European Medicines Agency.
Today’s finalized supply agreement with the European Commission represents the largest initial order for vaccine doses for Pfizer and BioNTech to date and an important step towards our common goal of making a Covid-19 vaccine available to vulnerable populations. ”Albert Bourla, chief executive officer of Pfizer, said in a statement Wednesday.
The coups will take place in Germany and Belgium, and the member states that opted for the deal would place separate orders, the company said. Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister, said Tuesday that he hoped to secure 100 million doses of the vaccine for the country.
Initial trial results released by the companies Monday showed the vaccine is more than 90 percent effective. The BioNTech-Pfizer injection is in the first position to be the first of several potential vaccines in development to receive regulatory approval. BioNTech executives have said approval could come in a few weeks.
Exploratory talks for the deal, which has now been finalized, were initially unveiled in September. It was originally scheduled to be announced alongside news of the scientific breakthrough on Monday, but concerns about liability delayed the announcement, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Those concerns have been resolved, people said. Pfizer declined to comment.
Governments around the world have been quick to secure pre-orders for several vaccines in development, in a bid to secure a way out of the pandemic. The virus has killed more than 1.25 million people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The UK has been negotiating separate supply agreements with the EU and has already placed orders for 40 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. The companies plan to make up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of next year.
Other coronavirus vaccines are in the final stages of testing with initial results expected before the end of the year. Other candidate vaccines include those made by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and the American company Moderna.
