The European Commission has agreed to purchase up to 405 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine candidate created by the German biotech company CureVac, President Ursula von der Leyen announced Monday.
The contract will be authorized Tuesday, von der Leyen said, making it the Commission’s fifth deal for coronavirus vaccines. Another deal with Moderna should be completed in the coming weeks.
CureVac has received a great deal of attention from the Commission, as it was the first producer that von der Leyen announced support for in the spring amid rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump was trying to lure the company to the U.S.
The European Investment Bank officially gave the biotech company a €75 million loan back in July.
“Now progress is tangible,” von der Leyen said.
“We do not know which vaccine will end up being safe and effective,” she added. “The European Medicines Agency will authorize them only after a robust assessment, and this is why we need a broad portfolio of vaccines based on very different technologies.”
Each EU member country will get vaccines at the same time via the Commission’s vaccine strategy, she added.