This is undoubtedly a relief for Valneva. The European Commission announced on Wednesday November 10 that it had reached an agreement with the Franco-Austrian laboratory for the purchase of its vaccine against Covid-19. Under the terms of the contract, the biotech, based in Saint-Herblain near Nantes, will provide member countries of the European Union with up to 60 million doses of VLA2001 – the name of its inactivated virus vaccine candidate – at over the next two years, including around 27 million vials in 2022.
After the snub inflicted by the United Kingdom, which had abruptly terminated its contract with the pharmaceutical company two months ago, and which provided for the supply of 100 million doses to London, the order from the European Commission comes at the right time for Valneva. The company, which has been working on developing its vaccine against Covid-19 since spring 2020, unveiled results in mid-October “ positive initials »Of its phase 3 clinical trials – the last step before marketing – for its product.
This new vaccine will complete the arsenal made available by the European Union to respond to the health crisis. ” The Valneva vaccine adds another option to our extensive portfolio, once its safety and efficacy have been proven by the European Medicines Agency ”, commented EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
The announcement of the European contract has given life to the company
The arrival of this inactivated virus vaccine, a more “traditional” technology than that of messenger RNA used by the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – the two most widely administered solutions in Europe today – could notably convince some adults now reluctant to be vaccinated. Member states may also decide to donate some of these vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, where vaccination rates are still low.
It now remains for the Franco-Austrian laboratory to obtain approval from the European regulatory authorities in order to begin marketing its product. Within this framework, the European Medicines Agency should soon begin the gradual review of the VLA2001 data. Subject to authorization, the first deliveries of vaccines, of which Valneva has already started production for several months, will arrive in April 2022.
In the meantime, the announcement of the European contract has revived the company, which had fallen on the stock market after the termination of the contract with London. The title was up more than 20% by mid-afternoon Wednesday.