BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission has approved a supply contract with U.S. firm Novavax for the purchase of up to 200 million of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, the Commission said on Wednesday.
Under the contract, EU states will be able to buy up to 100 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, with an option for 100 million additional doses until 2023, once the shot has been approved by the EU drugs regulator which is currently reviewing it, the Commission said.
“As new coronavirus variants are spreading in Europe and around the world, this new contract with a company that is already testing its vaccine successfully against these variants is an additional safeguard for the protection of our population,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The deal would allow EU states to receive the first Novavax doses from the last quarter of this year, the Commission said, confirming a Reuters report from May
Novavax confirmed the deal in a statement and said it was working to complete the submission of vaccine data to the EU drugs regulator in the third quarter of this year, with delivery of initial doses expected to begin following approval.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Alison Williams and Nick Macfie)
