The European Commission announced on 28 July that the new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) had signed a Joint Procurement Agreement with the pharmaceutical company GSK for the purchase of Adjupanrix, a prototype fragmented virion, inactivated and adjuvanted vaccine, previously known as the ‘pandemic influenza vaccine’ (H5N1).
The vaccine is indicated for use in adults in the event of an influenza pandemic officially declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the European Union. Such a pandemic occurs when a new strain of influenza virus emerges and is transmitted more rapidly when there is little or no immunity to the virus in the population.
The framework contract allows the 12 participating States to procure up to 85 million doses of Adjupanrix vaccine.
Through this Procurement Agreement, HERA strengthens the Union for Health and will improve the preparedness and response capabilities of participating States in the event of a pandemic influenza.
The Procurement Agreement was signed under the Commission Decision on the approval of the Agreement on joint procurement for the purchase of medical countermeasures [C(2014)2258]. The Agreement allows the 36 participating States to jointly purchase, on a voluntary basis, medical countermeasures in the event of a cross-border public health emergency, in accordance with the Decision of 22 October 2013 on serious cross-border threats to health [Decision 1082/2013/EU]. (Original version in French by Emilie Vanderhulst)