UK minister: Regulator concern sank deal for Valneva shot

UK

LONDON -- The U.K. government canceled an agreement with French vaccine maker Valneva partly because it was clear the company’s COVID-19 shot wouldn’t be approved by British regulators, the health secretary said Tuesday. Sajid Javid’s comments came a day after Valneva said the government had terminated an agreement to buy at least 100 million doses of the vaccine. The company “strenuously” denied allegations that it had breached its contract obligations. Responding to questions from a lawmaker, Javid said he couldn’t go into detail on the government’s decision because of commercial issues. But he said that "it was also clear to us that the vaccine in question that the company was developing would not get approval by the (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) here in the U.K.,” Javid said in the House of Commons.