Pfizer and BioNTech said on Wednesday that they had reached an agreement to supply another 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union.
The American and German companies said in a statement that the doses come on top of the 300 million vaccine doses that the block initially ordered. The EU executive commission has the option to request a further 100 million doses.
They said the 200 million doses are expected to be delivered this year, with an estimated 75 million of them in the second quarter.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first of three so far approved for use in the EU, which has come under strong criticism for the slow start of its vaccination campaign compared to countries such as Israel, Britain and the United States. The other two EU-approved vaccines are from Moderna and AstraZeneca.
Delays in the planned delivery of all the vaccine manufacturers have helped fuel the discontent among European governments.
Last month, Pfizer said it was temporarily reducing deliveries to Europe and Canada, while improving production capacity at its plant in Belgium. The EU also had a public conversation with AstraZeneca because it received fewer of its vaccine shots than expected. AstraZeneca’s chief blamed the delay on new factories that have to work out problems with vaccine production.
“We are working tirelessly to support the further implementation of vaccination campaigns in Europe and worldwide by expanding manufacturing capacity,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Wednesday.
UNG Sahin, CEO of BioNTech, noted that his company will start production this month at its new plant in Marburg, Germany, and has strengthened its production network with further partners.
“We continue to work with governments, authorities and partners at all levels to evaluate how we can handle an even higher future supply requirement for our vaccines,” he said.
Wednesday’s statement did not contain any financial details about the latest EU-Pfizer agreement.
The European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday that it had received a request from Johnson & Johnson to have its coronavirus vaccine approved. The EU’s medicine regulator has said it can provide advice by mid-March. The J&J vaccine is given in one shot, while the other three vaccines required two shots that are weeks apart.
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