Pfizer Inc. and German partner BioNTech SE said Thursday they have reached a new agreement with the European Commission to supply up to 1.8 billion additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine. The partners said the agreement is to provide 900 million doses initially with an option for the EC to request up an additional 900 million doses. The new agreement adds to the 600 million doses already committed to the European Union through 2021. The EU has lagged the U.S. and U.K. in delivering doses to its citizens, although on Wednesday, the trading bloc said it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travelers. Pfizer and BioNTech said they will continue to develop the vaccine, will evaluate the potential need for booster doses and updated versions to address potential variants. Separately, the companies said they have agreed to supply Turkey with an additional 60 million vaccine doses. Pfizer shares were not active premarket, but BioNTech was down 1.2%. BioNTech shares have gained 144% in the year to date, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has fallen 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.6%.
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