The U.S. government will pay $1.95 billion to buy 100 million doses of Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech SE’s coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) vaccine candidate if they are able to successfully develop one, the companies said on Wednesday.
Pfizer said they will not receive any money from the government unless the vaccine is deemed to be safe and effective and is successfully manufactured.
The agreement allows the U.S. government to acquire an additional 500 million doses, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense said.
HHS said the vaccine will be made available to Americans at no cost, although their health insurance may be charged.
Two injections
In clinical trials, Pfizer and BioNTech have been testing vaccines that require two injections.
Pfizer will deliver the doses if the product receives emergency use authorisation or licensing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, after demonstrating safety and efficacy in a large Phase 3 clinical trial. The companies said they expect to be ready to seek some form of regulatory approval as early as October if the ongoing studies are successful.
