Operation transparency.
The European Commission made public on Tuesday the contract signed with Sanofi and GSK laboratories to pre-order their anti-Covid vaccine.
This is the third document of this type unveiled by Brussels.
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Under strong pressure from MEPs, who denounce opaque negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry, the Commission had already published the contracts concluded with the German CureVac and the Swedish-British AstraZeneca.
The European executive, which negotiates on behalf of the Twenty-Seven and has so far signed six contracts to reserve more than 1.2 billion doses, assures to be held to confidentiality as long as the companies concerned do not give the green light.
I welcome the publication of @EU_Commission contract with @ sanofi / @ GSK for # COVID19 vaccines.
Transparency, accountability and building trust with institutions and citizens are a key commitment of our work in this critical area.https: //t.co/JzOf45xQmJ
- Stella Kyriakides (@SKyriakidesEU) February 9, 2021
Like the previously published documents, the Sanofi-GSK contract, accessible online, has been stripped of many elements deemed "sensitive", blackened to be made illegible: provisional delivery schedule, prices and amounts advanced by the EU to support the development of the vaccine , factories concerned etc.
Possible additional costs depending on orders
The Commission had signed this contract in mid-September with the French Sanofi and the British GSK to reserve up to 300 million doses of their vaccine in development.
“Sanofi and GSK will use their best reasonable efforts to ensure the supply of the indicated volumes and (respect) the delivery schedule”, details the text, but “the anticipated volumes and schedules are purely indicative and based (on the manufacturing assumptions at time of contract) ”.
Thus, Brussels reserves the doses, but it is then up to the Member States to place firm orders with the laboratories and take care of logistical questions.
The price per dose will be increased by an “additional cost” (the exact figure of which has been blacked out) if the total purchases made by the States do not exceed 150 million doses.
A vaccine expected at best at the end of the year
In addition, the two laboratories will be held not responsible (“harmless”), in the event of lawsuits of thirds, of negative consequences or side effects resulting from the deployment of the vaccines.
It is up to the States to take charge of any compensation as well as the defense costs of the two groups… with the exception of specific cases, censored in the published document.
Sanofi and GSK also ensure "to strive" to provide "at least 200 million doses" for an international initiative to supply the most vulnerable countries.
The recombinant protein vaccine developed by Sanofi and GSK, initially announced for summer 2021, is no longer expected, at best, until the end of the year.
Clinical trials turned out to be less good than expected.