BRUSSELS: The European Commission said on Thursday it had concluded exploratory talks with CureVac regarding the purchase of 225 million doses of the German biotech firm’s potential COVID-19 vaccine.
“Today we concluded talks with the European company CureVac to increase the chances of finding an effective coronavirus vaccine,” EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.
The EU will now begin talks on a contract with CureVac aimed at securing the supply of its potential vaccine for all 27 EU member states should the shot prove safe and effective against COVID-19.
The company said last week that it expects to put its vaccine on the market by mid-2021. Obtaining speedy approval suggests the company is pushing for an earlier release date although CEO Franz-Werner Haas did not give any details on how likely this was.
“We are not ruling out accelerated approval, but this can only be achieved in close cooperation with the authorities,” Haas told the Boerse Online financial website.
The results of the recently started clinical trials of the company’s prospective vaccine are to be published in autumn, Haas said, reiterating that at the moment approval was expected in the first half of next year.
CureVac is researching how to use molecules carryinga specific genetic code called messenger RNA (mRNA) to treat aseries of diseases, including COVID-19.
By using messenger RNA, researchers hope they can compel a patient’s own body to create proteins that can play an importantrole in combating disease.
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