Some EU nations still want Valneva COVID-19 vaccine deal

Some EU countries still want Brussels to strike a deal to buy Valneva’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate despite a recent setback in talks, as the bloc aim to shore up and diversify supplies, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

A spokesman for the European Commission said last week the French vaccine maker had not met conditions required to reach an agreement, two days after the company said it would now give priority to a country by country approach.

The EU concluded exploratory talks with Valneva in January for the supply of up to 60 million doses of its vaccine, which uses inactivated whole virus particles and is derived from the technology behind its licensed Japanese encephalitis shot.

Two sources familiar with the bloc’s plans said some EU members, including France and Germany, were still pushing for a deal to help diversify supplies as Europe tries to secure vaccines for the next two years.

“There are around 10 countries interested in a deal with Valneva. The contract is written, but the two sides still need to agree on a few structuring parameters. Once this is cleared, things could rapidly move forward,” one of the sources said.

The sources declined to be identified because of the confidential nature of the talks.

Valneva and the European Commission could not immediately be reached for comment.

So far, the EU has bought COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, CureVac, and Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline/GSK.