European Union Secures First COVID-19 Vaccine Advance Purchase Agreement with AstraZeneca for at Least 300 Million Doses
AstraZeneca
Biopharmaceutical Manufacturer
European Union
The European Union (German: Europäische Union; French: Union européenne), abbreviated as the EU, is headquartered in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It evolved from the European Communities and originally had six founding member states: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Union currently has 28 member states and 24 official languages.In December 1991, the European Council meeting in Maastricht adopted the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty. On November 1, 1993, the Maastricht Treaty officially entered into force, marking the formal establishment of the European Union. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Donald Tusk serves as President of the European Council, and Antonio Tajani is President of the European Parliament. Jean-Claude Juncker, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, is President of the European Commission.The EU’s treaties have been amended multiple times, and its operations are governed by the Treaty of Lisbon. Politically, all member states are democracies (according to The Economist’s 2008 Democracy Index). Economically, it constitutes the world’s second-largest economic entity (with Germany, France, and Italy being members of the G8). Militarily, the vast majority of EU member states are also members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
China News Service Jingwei Client, August 17 – According to Reuters Chinese on the 17th, the European Union has reached its first advance purchase agreement for a COVID-19 vaccine, securing at least 300 million doses of the candidate vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) produced by AstraZeneca.
The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the 27 EU member states, stated that if the vaccine proves safe and effective, the agreement includes an option to purchase an additional 100 million doses from AstraZeneca.
According to reports, the European Commission has refused to disclose the terms agreed upon with AstraZeneca, stating that the agreement aims to fund part of the upfront costs for vaccine research and development. The funding will cover an initial down payment to secure access to the vaccines, while the actual purchases will be decided later by individual EU member states.
The report pointed out that the EU’s bilateral agreements mirrored actions taken by the United States and other wealthy nations, further reducing the vaccine stocks potentially available to other countries in the race to secure effective COVID-19 vaccines. This move transformed the preliminary agreement reached in June by the European Inclusive Vaccine Alliance into a comprehensive EU-wide agreement.
According to public reports, on June 4 this year, the Dutch Ministry of Health announced that the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and France would form an alliance to jointly develop vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These four countries will engage in negotiations with manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies possessing potential vaccine production capabilities to ensure that the vaccines are produced within European territory. Meanwhile, the four-country alliance will strive to secure sufficient vaccine supplies for all European Union member states and low-income countries, particularly those in Africa.
AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development, production, and sales of prescription drugs. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of the former Swedish company Astra AB and the former British company Zeneca PLC. Headquartered in London, UK, it operates three strategic R&D centers located in Cambridge, UK; Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA; and Mölndal, Sweden. The company employs approximately 61,500 people worldwide. (China News Service Jingwei APP)