The contract between the EU and the American biotechnology company Moderna for an anti-Covid vaccine is
“almost ready”
and will be concluded
“in the coming days”
, assured the French Secretary of State for European Affairs on Wednesday.
Moderna: Stéphane Bancel, this Frenchman who revolutionized vaccines
“This contract will exist, it's a matter of days (..) It is almost ready, Brussels has assured us,”
said Clément Beaune on the French continuous news channel LCI.
The boss of Moderna warned Europeans on Tuesday that the extension of negotiations to buy doses of his Covid-19 vaccine risked slowing down deliveries, other countries being a priority because they have signed for months.
“We are having discussions, but we have no contract,”
Stéphane Bancel told AFP from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The French Secretary of State noted that a
"pre-agreement"
was already on the table.
"The essential parameters of the contract have been there since August 24,"
he said, referring to
"final details"
to be settled.
"Europe will not be late,"
he said, recalling that the European Commission was negotiating on behalf of the 27 with laboratories and would fund
"very largely"
the purchase of vaccines.
The
"advanced discussions"
were announced on August 24 between Moderna and the European Commission for the purchase of 80 million doses of vaccine, but no firm commitment has been signed since.
In the meantime, the American biotech has signed with Canada, Japan, Israel, the United Kingdom ... Not to mention the 100 million doses promised in early August in the United States.
five contracts signed by Europe
Moderna announced Monday that its vaccine against Covid-19 was 94.5% effective.
With the EU,
"there are plenty of administrative things, files, alignments between countries (...) It is clear that having fallen behind will not limit the total quantity, it will be fine. slow down delivery, ”
warned the boss of Moderna.
Read also: Vaccines against Covid-19: all you need to know about what awaits the French
The Commission has so far signed five contracts to pre-order possible vaccines: with the Swedish-British AstraZenaca, the American Johnson & Johnson, the Franco-British duo Sanofi-GSK, the American-German duo Pfizer / BioNTech and the German CureVac.