Vaccines: contract between European Commission and AstraZeneca now published
Following the renewed request from the European Commission on 27 January 2021, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has agreed to publish the redacted contract signed between the two parties on 27 August 2020.
The Commission welcomes the company’s commitment towards more transparency in its participation in the rollout of the EU Vaccines Strategy.
Transparency and accountability are important to help build the trust of European citizens and to make sure that they can rely on the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines purchased at the EU level.
The Commission hopes to be able to publish all contracts under the Advance Purchase Agreements in the near future.
The contract published today contains redacted parts pertaining to confidential information such as details of invoices. The AstraZeneca contract is the second one to be published, after CureVac has agreed to publish the Advance Purchase Agreement with the European Commission.
Background
For the Commission the protection of public health and securing the best possible agreements with companies so that vaccines are affordable, safe and efficacious is crucial.
The contract the European Commission negotiated together with the EU Member States was approved on 14 August and entered into force on 27 August. It is financed by the Emergency Support Instrument.
Through the contract, all Member States are able to purchase 300 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with an option for a further 100 million doses, to be distributed on a population-based pro-rata basis. The contract also allows the Member States to donate their vaccine doses to lower and middle income countries or to re-direct them to other European countries.
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