(Bloomberg) -- The European Union said it's closing in on a deal for as many as 300 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine Sanofi is developing with GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
The European Commission has concluded “exploratory talks” and “the envisaged contract with Sanofi would provide for an option for all EU Member States to purchase the vaccine,” according to a statement.
The contract would come on top of an earlier agreement with the U.S., worth as much as $2.1 billion, for the companies to provide as many as 600 million doses of the shot. Financial terms of the European supply arrangement were not disclosed.
Sanofi and Glaxo, two of the world's biggest vaccine makers, signed a deal earlier this week to supply the vaccine to the U.K.
The French company plans to start a study compressing the early and middle stages of clinical tests in September, followed by a final-stage study by the end of 2020. If the results are positive, Sanofi and its U.K. partner can seek U.S. regulatory approval in the first half of 2021, they said Friday.
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