The US drugmaker has escalated a dispute with Warsaw over unwanted doses
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has escalated its feud with Poland over excess Covid-19 vaccine doses that were ordered under a massive contract with the European Union. The company is suing the country over what it claims is an unfulfilled contract for Covid-19 vaccines.
Warsaw was locked into buying tens of millions ofΒ dosesΒ under a controversial contract the European Commission had signed with Pfizer in 2021 on behalf of EU nations. PfizerΒ is demanding 6 billion zloty ($1.5 billion) in compensation for 60 million doses that Polandβs government declined, after it stopped taking delivery of the jabs in April 2022.Β
The entire bloc wound up ordering 1.1 billion doses under the contract, saddling EU states with a vaccine glut as the Covid-19 pandemic waned. The EU prosecutorβs office has already announced an investigation into the procurement process amid allegations of corruption and secret backroom deals while Polish Health Minister Katarzyna Sojka has warned other EU states could be next to face prosecution.
Warsaw hasΒ questioned the controversial role of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Pfizer deal after it emerged she had for weeks privately communicated withΒ the company’sΒ CEO Albert Bourla during the contract negotiations.Β However, the European Commission claimed last year that her textΒ messages with the big pharma boss on deals worth multiple billions of dollars executive could not be found.
