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PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - A deal between AstraZeneca
and France over potential COVID-19 vaccines involves
doses being split between countries on a pro-rata basis based on
population, a source at the French President's office said on
Monday.
The British drugmaker signed a contract with European
governments at the weekend to supply the region with up to 400
million doses of its potential vaccine.
It was the first contract signed by Europe's Inclusive
Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by France, Germany,
Italy and the Netherlands to secure vaccine doses for all member
states as soon as possible.
"The principle of the deal is that the vaccines will be
distributed pro rata, based on population," the source at the
French president's office said. "What we've asked for and what
has been agreed is for production to take place in Europe."
France hopes to strike similar deals with other
pharmaceuticals companies soon, the source added.
The vaccines - still in clinical trials - would be for all
EU member states.
Governments have been scrambling to secure advance purchases
of promising coronavirus immunisation treatments amid concerns
within the EU that the bloc has not moved fast enough compared
with other regions or countries.
In France, Sanofi's call in May for a more
collaborative European effort in the hunt for a vaccine sparked
a backlash, especially after the French drugmaker's CEO said
doses produced in the United States, which had rapidly rolled
out funding for research, would go to U.S. patients first.
Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson later tempered his
comments, emphasising that any coronavirus vaccine would reach
all parts of the world.
Macron is due to visit a Sanofi Pasteur vaccine plant in
France on Tuesday and will announce commitments on treatments
and manufacturing capacities alongside the company, the source
at the President's office said.
(Reporting by Michel Rose and Matthias Blamont
Writing by Sarah White
Editing by David Goodman)
