EU reaches deal with Astrazeneca to buy at least 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines

The European Commission announced on Friday that it had reached a deal with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to purchase at least 300 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, as reported by Reuters.

According to the official statement, the deal also includes an option to purchase 100 million additional doses should the vaccine prove safe and effective.

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be helping market sentiment improve on Friday. As of writing, the Euro Stoxx 50 was down 1.75% on the day and Germany's DAX 30 was losing 1.2%.