UK govt secures a further 40 million doses of Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine

French vaccines developer Valneva (Euronext: VLA) today reported that the UK government has exercised its option to order a further 40 million doses of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001, for supply in 2022.

This latest vote of confidence from the UK in Valneva’s product saw the firm’s shares close up 7.8% at 11.36 euros.

This brings the total volume of the Valneva vaccine ordered by UK government to 100 million doses and the UK government retains options over a further 90 million doses for supply between 2023 and 2025. The total value of the 190 million doses, if all options are exercised, is up to 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion). Valneva has commenced production in parallel to the ongoing clinical studies in order to optimize the timeline for potential deliveries of the vaccine. The Phase I/II clinical study is now fully enrolled and is expected to read out within the next three months.