Pfizer’s revised EU Covid vaccine contract meets resistance

Pfizer has offered to change its Covid-19 vaccine contract with the EU to cut the number of doses being supplied by 40 per cent and delay their delivery after member states complained of a glut of shots.

The US pharmaceutical company has agreed to extend its contract from 2023 to 2026, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. But it is insisting on payment for doses ordered in the contract that will never be manufactured, angering some governments.

European health commissioner Stella Kyriakides presented the contract amendment to health ministers in a private meeting in Brussels on Tuesday but met resistance from four member states including Poland.

Governments have been destroying supplies because the coronavirus pandemic subsided earlier than expected and demand for boosters is shrinking.

Richer countries believe the price — around $19 a dose — means the contract remains good value for money. Pfizer, along with Moderna, raised EU vaccine prices in 2021 when countries were anxious to secure supplies for repeat shots.

Vlastimil Válek, Czech health minister, said most countries thought the deal was fair. The contract automatically updates to new vaccines developed to deal with new variants, he said. “The majority of countries agreed. The contract is not bad.”

He added: “Covid is still here. It will be necessary to repeat vaccination each year for a particular group of patients.”

But Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Lithuania issued a statement saying they would not agree to it.

“In our opinion these proposals do not present a final and fair solution to the problems of the Covid-19 vaccine surplus and do not meet the needs of the healthcare systems, the needs of citizens and the financial interests of the member states,” they said.

The four said the commission should negotiate a better contract or buy doses from member states that do not want them and donate them overseas. Austria also said it was unhappy with the deal.

Warsaw claimed force majeure last year and has not accepted or paid for any deliveries since. Poland’s health minister Adam Niedzielski said the deal favoured pharmaceutical companies, not EU citizens. He also demanded the confidential contract be published.

The European Commission claimed a triumph in 2020 when it corralled the 27 member states into a joint contract to order billions of vaccine doses even before researchers had them approved.

However, as the severity of the pandemic has waned, it has left the EU committed to paying for unneeded vaccines. About 82 per cent of adults in the bloc have received at least two jabs and more than 1.7bn doses have been delivered. Contracts were concluded with eight vaccine developers, providing as many as 4.2bn doses.

Covid vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer are struggling to generate sales on the same scale as at the height of the pandemic.

Kyriakides urged all member states to approve the change. “Working together we have achieved a significant reduction of doses, an extension of our contract in time far beyond 2023, and security of supply in case more doses are needed,” she said. “If we want to modify vaccine deliveries, we need a deal.”

Countries that do not sign up will remain locked into the original contract terms.

Pfizer said the discussions had been conducted “in good faith” and remained “confidential”.

“We are committed to finding pragmatic solutions to address public health and the evolving pandemic needs, while ensuring Pfizer and BioNTech continue to meet all of their contractual obligations regarding the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to the EU,” the company said in a statement.