EC activates buy of 150 million optional doses of Moderna vaccines

Today, the European Commission (EC) approved the amendment to the second contract with the US biotech Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) for the activation, on behalf of all European Union member states, of 150 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines and variants in 2022.

This purchase brings the EC’s confirmed order commitment to 460 million doses. Under the terms of the agreement, delivery of Moderna’s updated variant booster vaccine candidate will begin in 2022. Purchase under this agreement is subject to regulatory approval of the booster vaccine candidates by the European Medicines Agency, which earlier this month approved a new manufacturing site for the production of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine finished product, operated by Recipharm and located in Monts, France.

No mentioned was made on the value of the contract, but Moderna last year revealed that smaller volume agreements for it’s then investigational COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 have been executed at between $32 and $37 per dose. The company has previously said it expects to book $18.4 billion in Advanced Purchase Agreements (APAs) for its COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna in 2021.