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(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc is set to close a deal with the U.S. government to provide at least tens of millions of additional doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate next year in return for a government directive giving it a better access to manufacturing supplies, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
A deal could be announced as early as Wednesday, the newspaper https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/pfizer-vaccine-trump-administration.html reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
“We continue to work with the US government to deliver doses of our COVID-19 vaccine to as many Americans as possible,” Pfizer said in an emailed statement.
“The company is unable to comment on any confidential discussions that may take place with the US government.”
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE as well as its rival Moderna Inc recently won emergency use authorization in the United States for their respective vaccine candidates.
The US government had signed an agreement with Pfizer for 100 million doses of its vaccine, which began to be rolled out nationwide.
As part of the new negotiations, the government is asking Pfizer for an additional 100 million doses from April to June, according to the NYT report.
In return, the deal calls on the government to invoke the Defense Production Act to give Pfizer better access to about nine specialty products it needs to make the vaccine, according to the report.
White House officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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