What is written in the purchase contract for Pfizer-Biontech vaccines
Here are the details of the contract signed between the EU Commission and Pfizer-Biontech for the purchase of anti Covid-19 vaccines
Vaccine with higher costs than known ones, but above all zero responsibility for Pfizer-Biontech. These are some of the aspects that emerge from the contract for the purchase of anti Covid-19 vaccines signed between the European Commission and Pfizer-Biontech, as revealed by the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
All the details.
THE DOCUMENT
The contract for the purchase of Pfizer vaccines, which La Vanguardia has had the opportunity to read, refers to the purchase by the European Commission of 200 million doses, with the option to purchase another 100 million and was signed by the president of the global vaccine program, Nanette Cocero, and by the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, on 20 November 2020. On that date, the Commission commits itself to purchase a serum that had not yet been authorized for marketing.
THE QUESTION OF LIABILITY
Lack of authorization which, however, did not stop the EU from granting complete discharge of responsibility, in case of damage, to Pfizer and Biontech. In fact, the document states that “all responsibility is left to the European Commission and the Member States”.
PFIZER-BIONTECH LIABLE FOR FACTORY DAMAGES ONLY
The pharmaceutical company "is responsible" exclusively "for any failures that may be recorded in the manufacture of the serum, but from the delivery of the serum to member countries, the multinational no longer has any responsibility, nor should it be subject to any compensation".
"Neither she, nor any of its managers, any workers, nor those of any of its partners," specifies the document.
THE COST
The cost of the drug is also higher than the one known so far by about 12.50 euros. In the document signed by Cocero and by Cammissaria Kyriakides, the Commission purchased the first 100 million doses at a price of 17.50 euros per dose. For the supply of the next 100 million doses, however, the price, writes the Catalan newspaper, dropped to 13.50 euros.
For the additional 100 million optional doses, the price was set at € 15.50 if the request was received within three weeks of Ema's authorization. Otherwise the price would have risen to 17.50 euros (the order arrived a week after 21 December, the day of the EMA's go-ahead).
ADVANCED PAYMENT
Part of the payment was made in advance: “Brussels paid 700 million euros, as stated in the text, at the rate of 3.5 euros per dose, an amount that was subsequently subtracted from the total calculation,” explains La Vanguardia.
THE CALENDAR
The contract also establishes the delivery schedule. Had the authorization arrived before December 15, Pfizer had committed to deliver 25 million doses by the end of 2020. In the first quarter of the year, the company would have delivered 40 million doses, between April and June, 60 million and for the third quarter, 75 million doses.
The commitments, underlines the Catalan daily, "were respected" despite the delay in the authorization to trade, with the exception of a slight delay in delivery in seven countries, including Italy.
THE NEW CONTRACT
And in recent days, the European Commission signed a new contract with the American company for the supply of another 300 million doses: initial 200 million and another 100 million optional doses.
TOWARDS A THIRD CONTRACT?
Work is already underway to negotiate a third major purchase, to bring the overall supply to 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer-Biontech vaccines by 2022 and 2023.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/cosa-ce-scritto-nel-contratto-di-acquisto-dei-vaccini-pfizer-biontech/ on Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:27:54 +0000.