When the door is closed in his face, Valneva goes through the window.
In the absence of an agreement with the European Union, the Franco-Austrian laboratory, based in Nantes, has decided to turn to country-by-country discussions to provide its candidate vaccine against Covid-19, the first potential tricolor vaccine.
To date, discussions with the EU have not made "significant progress", regrets Valneva.
However, the biotech announced in early April positive initial results for the first phase of its clinical study on its potential vaccine.
It has therefore decided to no longer give "priority to the centralized supply discussions underway with the European Commission".
Valneva Switches Focus to Bilateral Discussions to Supply its Inactivated, Adjuvanted COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate VLA2001https: //t.co/YCXojsxofy pic.twitter.com/3BGlgYz1UZ
- Valneva (@valnevaSE) April 20, 2021
"We have spent a lot of time and effort trying to meet the requirements of the centralized purchasing process of the European Commission, said Thomas Lingelbach, CEO of the group, quoted in the press release, who regrets the lack of agreement. with the EU.
We are now focusing our efforts on EU Member States and interested parties outside the EU who wish to include our inactivated approach in their vaccination strategy.
"
Read alsoPressure on labs, export control ... Europe's new vaccine battle plan
The European Union announced on January 12 that it had concluded “exploratory talks” with Valneva and considered purchasing up to 60 million doses.
In this third week of April, no final agreement was reached, even as vaccine supplies suffered delays, exposing the EU to criticism for an immunization campaign less advanced than in its British neighbor in particular.
A much more marked interest across the Channel
In July 2020, the United Kingdom signed an agreement with Valneva before signing a partnership last September for a potential of 190 million doses purchased, for a maximum value of € 1.4 billion.
The country has already ordered 100 million doses for 2021-2022, recalls Valneva in its press release Wednesday.
“The UK responded first, probably largely because we were already there, and also because they immediately believed in our inactivated vaccine.
They were the first to react and to make a structured offer of assistance to us, ”Franck Grimaud, the director general, told AFP in early February.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the biotech Valneva vaccine manufacturing site in Livingston, Scotland on January 28.
AFP / Wattie Cheung
Valneva is developing a vaccine that uses the well-known inactivated virus technology, a process that creates an immune response in patients by injecting them with a virus deprived of its ability to harm.
The laboratory is preparing a phase 3 study, the last before a possible authorization, which should start at the end of April, and hopes to be put on the market this fall.
So far, vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca are available within the EU.
The European Medicines Agency also estimated on Tuesday that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, on which many countries rely to speed up immunization campaigns, can be used, due to a favorable benefit / risk ratio.
