Europe May Race the U.S. for Early Vaccine Access With Deals (3)

The European Union is looking to join the global race to secure early access to future coronavirus vaccines, seeking deals to share the cost of development with pharmaceutical companies.

The EU’s executive arm has asked the bloc’s 27 governments for a mandate to negotiate with the companies for advance contracts and reservations for doses of promising candidates, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. Health ministers will discuss details of the plan in a video conference next week.

There is growing concern in Europe that the region will fall behind the U.S. or China in obtaining supplies of any ...