The UK government said on Monday it has secured early access to 90 million doses of vaccines from two potential COVID-19 vaccines developed by a partnership between Germany’s BioNTech and US drug maker Pfizer, as well as one by the group. French Valneva.
The business ministry said it had signed an agreement with the BioNTech / Pfizer PFE alliance,
for 30 million doses. Delivery of 10 million initial doses is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to clinical success and regulatory approval, and an additional 20 million doses will be delivered in 2021.
Listed on Nasdaq, BioNTech BNTX,
It is one of 17 companies worldwide that has started human trials with a COVID-19 vaccine. It uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to develop a vaccine, a process that is faster than traditional methods.
The government also said it had agreed to an agreement with Valneva for 60 million doses, with the option to purchase another 40 million if the vaccine is shown to be “safe, effective and adequate.” The candidate vaccine will be manufactured at the Valneva facility in Livingston, Scotland, and the government is expected to contribute to the costs of UK clinical studies.
“This new partnership with some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and vaccine companies will ensure that the UK has the best possible opportunity to secure a vaccine that protects those who are most at risk,” said trade secretary Alok Sharma in a release.
However, it is still unclear which of these experimental vaccines may work.
Kate Bingham, chair of the Vaccine Taskforce, said the UK was investing in a diverse portfolio of vaccine candidates to maximize the chances of finding a vaccine quickly that meets rigorous UK safety and regulatory standards.
But he cautioned against being complacent or overly optimistic. “The fact is that we may never receive a vaccine and if we do, we must be prepared that it is not a vaccine that prevents virus infection, but one that reduces symptoms,” said Bingham.
The announcement came when GlaxoSmithKline GSK,
He said Monday that he was betting on the German vaccine maker CureVac, the latest move by a major drug maker to increase capabilities to fight pandemics. Glaxo said that CureVac’s mRNA technology would complement its own capabilities.
The UK government had previously announced an agreement with AstraZeneca AZN,
for the drug maker to produce 100 million doses of its potential vaccine developed in association with the University of Oxford. On Monday, the business ministry also said it had secured treatments containing AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies to protect people who cannot be vaccinated.
Read:AstraZeneca made a bet on Moderna in 2013. This is what it’s worth now
The government aims to get 500,000 volunteers to sign up to join the studies in October through a new National Health Service vaccine research registry website.
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