EU Orders 160 Million Doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine

The European Commission (EC) has entered into an advance purchase agreement with Moderna for up to 160 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, which has demonstrated 94.5 percent efficacy in a phase 3 clinical trial.

The deal marks the sixth such agreement the EU has signed for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Commission previously struck deals with AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and CureVac.

Financial terms of the latest contract were not disclosed, but Moderna’s CEO Stephane Bancel said the company planned to charge governments between $25 and $37 per dose.

Moderna’s vaccine requires two doses to be effective, so the 160 million doses will be enough to vaccinate 80 million of the EU’s population of 446 million. Once the Moderna vaccine is “proven as safe and effective, every member state will receive it at the same time, on a pro-rata basis,” said EC President Ursula von der Leyen.

An interim analysis from Moderna’s 30,000-participant phase 3 clinical trial at 100 research centers in the U.S., which evaluated 95 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections, found that 90 infections were seen in patients given a placebo compared to just five cases seen in those who received the two-dose vaccine, leading to the estimated 94.5 percent efficacy rate (DID, Nov. 17).

In August, Moderna entered into a 100 million-dose supply deal with the U.S. government worth  $1.5 billion, with an option for 400 million more doses (DID, Aug. 13).

Moderna said it expects to produce 500 million to 1 billion doses for worldwide use next year. ― Jason Scott