EU MAY FORK OVER $10B FOR PFIZER, CUREVAC COVID VACCINES

The European Union (EU) could pay more than $10 billion to secure hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine candidates being developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and CureVac, an EU official involved in the talks told Francesco Guarascio of Reuters.

The bloc has agreed to pay 15.50 euros ($18.34) per dose for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, according to the official. That would mean an overall price of up to 3.1 billion euros ($3.7 billion) for 200 million doses, rising to 4.65 billion euros if another optional 100 million doses are purchased under the deal, the official said.

The pricing information, previously undisclosed, confirms the EU is paying less per dose than the United States for an initial supply of that vaccine, as reported by Reuters last week. The deal includes an insurance for EU countries to get compensation if the companies divert doses to the US, according to the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The EU has separately agreed to pay 10 euros ($11.84) per dose for an initial supply of 225 million doses of the vaccine candidate from CureVac, a discount from the 12 euros the company set as the price for the shot, the official said. The bloc struck the deal with CureVac this week to secure the supply of up to 405 million doses, of which 180 million are optional. The official said CureVac had committed to starting deliveries by the end of March. It is unclear whether the additional 180 million doses would cost 10 or 12 euros each. Under the 10-euro price, though, the bloc would pay 4.05 billion euros for 405 million doses.