What happened
Shares of Moderna (MRNA 0.53%) were jumping 5.9% higher as of 11:36 a.m. EST on Wednesday. The nice gain came after the biotech announced that the European Commission approved an agreement to secure 80 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 with an option to purchase up to 160 million doses.
So what
This is just the latest in a string of supply deals for Moderna's coronavirus vaccine. The company previously lined up supply agreements with the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K., Israel, Qatar, and Switzerland.
Image source: Getty Images.
Make no mistake about it, though: Today's announcement is great news for Moderna. Although the company didn't reveal the financial details of the European agreement, it likely represents in the ballpark of $1.5 billion for the initial 80 million doses with the potential to double that total.
Now what
It's important to note that the deal isn't totally done yet. European Union member states first have a brief review period before the agreement is finalized. Also, Moderna must win European approval for mRNA-1273 before it can ship any doses. The European Medicines Agency began a rolling review of mRNA-1273 on Nov. 17.
The biggest upcoming catalyst for the biotech stock, though, is the potential to win U.S. Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for mRNA-1273. Moderna is expected to file for EUA soon with a decision by the FDA likely to follow before the end of the year.
