The US government is close to an agreement with Pfizer for up to 100 million additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine, sources for CNBC’s Meg Tirrell said on Tuesday.
The agreement could be announced as early as Wednesday, according to a source. The New York Times first reported the news.
Pfizer declined to comment, saying the company “is not able to comment on any confidential discussions that may take place with the US government.” The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news comes after Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla told CNBC last week that the company is negotiating with the federal government to supply another 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine next year.
Pfizer and the US are working out the details of the schedule, Bourla told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview on December 14th. The company could supply many of these doses in the third quarter of 2021, but the US government is making efforts for this in the second quarter, he said.
“We are working very collaboratively to try to find a solution and be able to allocate the 100 million [doses] in the second quarter, if possible or many of them, “Bourla said, adding that the company has not yet signed an agreement with the United States.
Unlike other drug manufacturers, Pfizer did not accept federal funding to help develop or manufacture its vaccine. Pfizer already has an agreement with the US government to provide 100 million doses of vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed, enough to inoculate 50 million people. Under the agreement, Americans will receive the vaccine for free.
Initial doses of Pfizer vaccine are limited as production increases, and officials predict it will take months to immunize everyone in the United States who wants to be vaccinated. The United States delivered 2.9 million doses of vaccine last week and plans to send 2 million doses of vaccine this week, according to Army General Gustave Perna, who oversees logistics for Operation Warp Speed.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the target of launching the Pfizer vaccine of 50 million doses worldwide by the end of the year was only half of the 100 million originally planned. In a statement, Pfizer said there were several factors that affected the estimated number of doses, including the spread of a vaccine at an “unprecedented” rate.
The US government in recent weeks has criticized Pfizer, saying the drug manufacturer has kept federal officials at bay throughout its entire vaccine manufacturing process.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told CNBC on Thursday that he would like to change the federal government’s relationship with Pfizer.
“These are part of Operation Warp Speed, but … it’s a different relationship” from government agreements with Moderna and other federally funded pharmaceutical companies, Azar told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” during an interview. “We contract, we give [Pfizer] a guaranteed purchase, which allows them to make capital investments, to have a predictable buyer, but we do not have a complete visibility in terms of their production, because they have kept this longer.