UK government inks deal for 60 million doses of Valneva COVID-19 vaccine

Valneva has announced a vaccine partnership with the UK government to supply its inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, VLA2001. Under the agreement, if vaccine development is successful, Valneva will provide the UK with 60 million doses in the second half of 2021.

After this, the UK government then has options for over 40 million doses in 2022 and a further 30 million to 90 million doses, in aggregate, across 2023 to 2025. According to the company, revenue from these options could amount to almost €900 million. The inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is expected to have a two dose regimen. 

The UK government is also investing up-front in the scale up and development of the vaccine, with the investment being recouped against the vaccine supply under the partnership. The agreement follows the initial intent to participate in the UK government’s COVID-19 vaccine response announced in July.

VLA2001 is based on a proven approach and will leverage the company’s existing manufacturing platform being used for its US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA)-approved Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine. VLA2001 is expected to enter clinical studies at the end of 2020 and if the clinical development is successful, a first regulatory approval may be granted in the second half of 2021.

David Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer of Valneva, said: “Our proven track record and manufacturing capability in Scotland underpins this partnership. Through our recent discussions we’ve built a great working relationship with the UK government. I’d like to acknowledge the contributions of the UK government task force and colleagues as well as other stakeholders including West Lothian, Scottish and UK politicians who are supporting the ongoing work. We see a fantastic spirit across all stakeholders to make this partnership succeed.”

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma, said: “This new agreement could help us vaccinate millions of people across the country, as well as help create a UK vaccine manufacturing facility to speed up access to a potential COVID-19 candidate and boost the country’s resilience against future pandemics.”