- The European Commission has signed a contract allowing EU member states to purchase up to 250 million doses of a new Covid-19 vaccine produced in Spain.
- If the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves the HIPRA vaccine, it will be the seventh to join the EU’s joint procurement programme.
The European Commission said that it has signed a contract allowing EU member states to purchase up to 250 million doses of a new Covid-19 vaccine produced in Spain, said on Tuesday.
If the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves the HIPRA vaccine, it will be the seventh to join the EU’s joint procurement programme.
The EU executive in Brussels controls a common purchasing plan that has acquired 4,2 billion doses of Covid vaccine to date, bolstering the bloc’s immunisation programme.
AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen, BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, and Valneva have signed contracts. However, Valneva has ceased production.
The protein-based HIPRA vaccine, also called PHH-1V, is a booster shot for individuals whose protection has waned after two or three shots.
The EMA is examining the results of laboratory and clinical testing and may approve its usage later this year.
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“With Covid-19 infections on the rise in Europe, we need to ensure maximum preparedness as we head into the autumn and winter months,” said Stella Kyriakides, EU health commissioner.
“The HIPRA vaccine adds yet another option to complement our broad vaccine portfolio for our Member States and citizens. An increase in vaccination and boosting is essential over the coming months.”
Speaking to reporters on a visit to Palma de Mallorca, Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, interpreted the contract as a hint that approval was forthcoming, adding, “We have finally achieved this vaccine.”
He welcomed Brussels’ trust as a triumph for “innovation and the pharmaceutical industry in our country” and for national and Catalan government research funding.
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