TAIPEI, Feb 18 (Reuters) – BioNTech SE of Germany plans to supply COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan, the company said after the island complained that the company had given up an agreement in December to buy 5 million doses at the last minute. , probably due to Chinese pressure.
Taiwan’s Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Wednesday that officials were about to announce the deal in December, when BioNTech pulled the plug, although he added that the deal was still ongoing and had not been broken.
Although he did not say directly that China was to blame, Chen suggested that there was a political dimension to the decision and that he was concerned about the “intervention of external forces”, hence his caution in the public discussion of the agreement planned at the time.
In an email statement late Wednesday, the company said it intends to provide the vaccine to Taiwan.
“BioNTech is committed to helping end the pandemic for people around the world, and we intend to provide Taiwan with our vaccine as part of this global commitment. Discussions are ongoing and BioNTech will provide an update. ”
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly fought the island for the coronavirus pandemic.
Taiwan has been upset by China’s claim that it can only speak for the island on the international stage on the issue, while Taiwan has accused China of lack of transparency.
BioNTech has signed an agreement with Chinese company Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd to develop and market exclusively COVID-19 vaccine products developed using BioNTech’s mRNA technology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Instead, it agreed to pay up to $ 85 million in licensing fees and invest $ 50 million in a stake in the German company.
BioNTech’s development and distribution partner for the rest of the world is the American company Pfizer Inc.
Taiwan announced in late December that it had agreed to buy nearly 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 10 million from British doctor AstraZeneca, with the rest coming from the global COVAX vaccine program and an unnamed company. . (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)