UK ends contract with French startup for vaccines

Valneva shares plummeted on the news from the UK, the only country that had made a commitment to buy its vaccine.

The UK government has cancelled an agreement to buy at least 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the French pharmaceutical startup Valneva after alleging that the company breached its contract obligations. Valneva shares plummeted Monday on the news from the United Kingdom, the only country that had made a firm commitment to buy the company’s vaccine. The stock was down 40 percent at 12.02 euros ($14) in afternoon trading in Europe, after falling as low as 11 euros ($13). The UK was an early backer of the Valneva project, agreeing to invest millions of pounds in a production facility in Scotland as part of deal announced last September.