EC tells Valneva it's terminating APA deal on COVID-19 vaccine

French specialty vaccine company Valneva (Euronext: VLA) yesterday announced that it has received a notice from the European Commission (EC) of intent to terminate the advance purchase agreement (APA) for Valneva’s inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA2001.

Valneva’s shares fell on the news, but recovered to some extent today, with the stock up 5.7% at 10.20 euros mid-afternoon.

The APA provides the EC with a right to terminate the APA if VLA2001 had not received a marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) by April 30, 2022. Based on the terms of the APA, Valneva has 30 days from May 13, 2022, to obtain a marketing authorization or propose an acceptable remediation plan.