Covid-19: EC approves contract with Valneva to secure a new potential vaccine
The European Commission approved on November 10 the eighth contract with a pharmaceutical company with a view to purchasing its potential vaccine against Covid-19, the Commission said in a statement.
The contract with Valneva provides for the possibility for all EU member states to purchase almost 27 million doses in 2022, the Commission said.
It also includes the possibility to adapt the vaccine to new variant strains, and for EU countries 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, the statement said.
“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,” the Commission said.
Valneva is a European biotechnology company developing an inactivated virus vaccine, made of the live virus through chemical inactivation, the statement said.
“This is a traditional vaccine technology, used for 60-70 years, with established methods and high level of safety. Most of the flu vaccines and many childhood vaccines use this technology. This is currently the only inactivated vaccine candidate in clinical trials against Covid-19 in Europe.”
The Commission said that it had, with the support of EU member states, taken a decision to support this vaccine based on a sound scientific assessment, the technology used, the company’s experience in vaccine development and its production capacity to supply all EU member states.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The contract allows for the vaccine to be adapted to new variants. Our broad portfolio will help us to fight Covid and its variants in Europe and beyond.
“The pandemic is not over. Everyone who can should get vaccinated,” Von der Leyen said.
(Archive photo: Sofia municipality)
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