French vaccine company Valneva SE (Nasdaq:VALN; Euronext Paris:VLA) has reached a settlement agreement with regulators in the United Kingdom related to the termination of a supply agreement for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The company is attempting to salvage a COVID-19 vaccine deal with the EU after regulators announced plans to terminate an Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) related to the vaccine candidate.
VALN shares tumbled 6.87% to $15.73 in afternoon trading.
The company has developed the only whole virus, inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine candidate.
Demand for COVID-19 vaccines has faltered in recent months. The majority of the population in many European countries has been fully vaccinated.
On September 13, 2021, Valneva received a termination notice from the UK government.
The agreement between the parties included a provision giving the UK government the discretionary right to terminate for convenience.
The recent settlement includes provisions related to the termination of the supply agreement and ongoing clinical studies of the VLA2001 vaccine in the UK.
The fate of the VLA2001 vaccine remains unclear given the current state of affairs.
Valneva is also developing vaccines for other conditions, including Lyme disease and chikungunya.