January 19 (SeeNews) - U.S. multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer and German peer BioNTech are suing Romania for allegedly failing to fulfil its obligations regarding COVID-19 vaccine orders, as part of a contract to supply the EU signed in May 2021, a Pfizer official told SeeNews on Friday.
“Following a prolonged contractual breach, and a period of discussions in good faith between the parties, Pfizer and BioNTech have taken the difficult decision to initiate formal proceedings against Romania,” Andrew Widger, senior director of global media relations at Pfizer, said in an emailed statement.
The lawsuit is reportedly seeking compensation for 28 million Covid-19 vaccine doses worth approximately 550 million euro ($598.5 million), according to local news portal HotNews.ro.
Romania was notified of the lawsuit late in December, government spokesperson Mihai Constantin said during a press briefing on Thursday.
“Romania estimated a pandemic-related need for [vaccine] doses, but the amendment to which the pharmaceutical company is referring was not signed by the health ministry and, as a result, no payment could be made because those doses have not been collected by the Romanian state,” Constantin added.
Poland and Hungary are also being sued by Pfizer and BioNTech over Covid-19 vaccine debts, according to Constantin.
Pfizer and BioNTech will continue to support the pandemic response while remaining “committed to deliver Covid-19 vaccines in line with its contractual agreements and in the interests of public health.”
($=0.9189 euro)