Saudi Arabia signs deal with German firm to distribute COVID-19 vaccine

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with a German firm to supply and distribute a coronavirus vaccine in the Kingdom.
Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp. (SPIMACO) said on Sunday that it had signed the agreement with biopharmaceutical company CureVac on Nov. 27.
Under the agreement, SPIMACO will apply for the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to meet the requirements for distributing the vaccine.
The CureVac vaccine successfully passed the first phase of clinical trials in early November. 
Results showed an increase in virus-neutralizing antibodies in all participants who took the dose, and more than 90 percent of patients were shown to have developed antibodies against both the receptors and the COVID-19 spike protein.
CureVac is aiming to lodge a submission to the European Medicines Agency during the first quarter of 2021.
The agreement includes the possibility of extending the supply and distribution rights to the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
The announcement is part of the Saudi government’s initiatives to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 
In a statement on Nov. 11, Abdullah Al-Assiri, assistant deputy minister for preventive health, said the government had previously signed an agreement to receive early supplies of two or three different vaccines that were in the final stages of their clinical trials.
“Saudi Arabia will be one of the first countries to receive the vaccines,” he said during an interview on Saudia TV.
Saudi health officials have previously announced plans to offer free vaccinations by the end of 2021 to 70 percent of residents who have not contracted the virus.