EC approves contract for Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine

The European Commission has approved the eighth contract with a pharmaceutical company with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against COVID-19.

This latest contract is with French vaccine maker Valneva (Euronext: VLA) and provides for the possibility for all European Union member states to purchase almost 27 million doses in 2022. It also includes the possibility to adapt the vaccine to new variant strains, and for member states to make a further order of up to 33 million additional vaccines in 2023.

The contract with Valneva comes in addition to an already secured broad portfolio of vaccines to be produced in Europe, including the contracts already signed with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, CureVac, Moderna, and Novavax. This diversified vaccines portfolio will ensure Europe is well prepared for vaccination, once the vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective. Member states could decide to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries.