BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (KUNA) -- The European Commission Wednesday approved a sixth contract under the EU Vaccines Strategy, this time with the US pharmaceutical company Moderna.
The contract provides for the initial purchase of 80 million doses, plus an option to request up to a further 80 million doses, to be supplied once a vaccine has proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19, said the EU's executive body in a press release.
The Commission said that it has already signed contract with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNTech-Pfizer and approved a contract with CureVac.
The European Commission presented on 17 June a European strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of effective and safe vaccines against COVID-19.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, commented that "we are setting up one of the most comprehensive COVID-19 vaccine portfolios in the world, providing Europeans access to the most promising future vaccines under development so far. A safe and effective vaccine can help us end the pandemic, and return gradually to normal life." (end) nk.sd