4 EU states to pay €750M for AstraZeneca's vaccine

Italy's Health Ministry announced on Monday that Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Italy have agreed to pay €750 million for 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine which may be developed by the end of the year.

At the moment, AstraZeneca's vaccine is undergoing clinical trials and is yet to be confirmed whether is it safe and effective against the novel coronavirus.

The company's stocks rose by 1.78 percent on the news of successful negotiations, selling for £83.5 per share at 12: 59 pm CET. Furthermore, Astrazeneca's shares climbed almost 10 percent since the start of 2020.

On the other hand, Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier revealed on Monday the government plans to acquire a 23 percent stake in biopharmaceutical company CureVac for €300 million.