US drug giant Pfizer beats GSK to UK government contract for 4.9m vaccine shots

Pfizer has beaten GSK to win a contract to supply millions of doses of a new respiratory vaccine in the UK after the government snubbed the local drugmaker.

The US giant was chosen to supply more than 3.5m shots of its Abrysvo vaccine to older adults and over 1.4m doses to pregnant mothers in England and Northern Ireland over the next two years to protect them from a lower respiratory tract infection, according to a government contract published earlier this month.

The government has not disclosed the value of the contract and it is not clear whether discounts were offered in the tender process. Bloomberg first reported the news.

GSK beat Pfizer to become the first company to secure approval for a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in the US last May. Pfizer’s jab is the only one approved for both pregnant women, to protect their unborn babies, and older adults.

The Arexvy vaccine from GSK generated £1.2bn in sales last year, with the firm becoming the early market leader in the US and upgrading its longer-term guidance.

A GSK spokesperson said: “We are disappointed not to have been selected to supply our RSV vaccine for the UK eligible population but are very confident in the value it delivers, with data that demonstrates sustained efficacy against lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults aged 60 and over.”

Pfizer said that “following a competitive tender process” it had secured the contract to supply the “NHS for the first national immunisation programme for RSV, a public health milestone in the UK”.

A vaccination campaign is set to start in July before the winter cold and flu season, with shots to be given to adults aged between 75 and 79 and women who are at least 28 weeks pregnant.

Adults with underlying conditions are at a higher risk of severe consequences from an RSV infection, which can exacerbate these conditions and trigger pneumonia, hospitalisation or death.

The UK government has not issued an official statement on the contract snub as it is restricted from publishing announcements that could impact any political party in the run up to the general election on 4 July.