* Moderna deal is Britain's seventh supply deal
* Health minister: we prioritised vaccines with early
availability
* Medical official says good trial results bode well for
others
(Recasts with Hancock confirming deal)
By William James and Alistair Smout
LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Britain has secured 5 million
doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna
Inc after it reported positive trial results, health
minister Matt Hancock said on Monday, with the earliest doses
expected for delivery in spring.
Interim data from a late-stage trial indicated Moderna's
vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19.
"We have today secured an initial agreement for 5 million
doses of the Moderna vaccine," Hancock said at a news
conference.
Britain had previously secured supply deals for a total of
350 million vaccine doses from six different suppliers,
including Pfizer Inc, whose vaccine was found to be more
than 90% effective, and 100 million doses of an
AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate expected to report
late-stage results in coming weeks.
Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said the
government had prioritised deals with vaccine developers who
could provide early supply to Britain and have advanced
manufacturing supply chains in place.
Asked if he regretted not being able to buy more of the
Moderna vaccine, Hancock said Britain expected to have other
vaccines sooner.
"The Moderna vaccine doesn't come on stream until the
spring," Hancock said. "I'm just really pleased that we've got
those early vaccines that will be available early, and we've
already got the orders of those in."
Britain expects to take delivery of the Pfizer vaccine
before the Moderna shot becomes available, as well as
AstraZeneca's candidate if it proves to be effective.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam said data from
late-stage trials of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine had not been
reviewed, so it was still unknown if it works.
But he added that trial results from both the Pfizer and
partner BioNTech vaccine and Moderna's augured well
for other candidates that target the coronavirus' spike protein.
"This really does begin to show us that the spike protein is
a completely plausible and effective target for vaccines to be
working against," Van Tam said.
"We're feeling in a happier place than we were. But do we
know the (Oxford/AstraZeneca) data? No we don't."
(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout,
Michael Holden and William James, Editing by Kate Holton and
Bill Berkrot)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
