EU in negotiations with vaccine makers to secure advance purchases – Reuters

The European Union is in talks with Moderna, BioNtech, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and CureVac with an aim to secure advance purchase deals of potential coronavirus vaccines, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two EU sources. 

“The information on the ongoing talks was shared by the European Commission, the EU executive arm, with EU health ministers at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, the sources said,” Reuters wrote. “The multiple talks confirm the bloc’s more assertive stance on procuring potential COVID-19 shots and drugs after Washington’s early moves in securing promising treatments and vaccines.”

Market reaction

The Euro Stoxx 50 largely ignored this headline and was last seen posting small daily gains at 3,367.