Poland sued for EUR 1.4 bn over uncollected COVID-19 vaccines

Poland has been sued for PLN 6 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) by pharmaceuticals firm Pfizer over 60 million uncollected COVID-19 vaccine doses, officials have said.

Photo:

Foto: PAP/Leszek Szymański

The initial hearing before a court in Brussels in scheduled for December 6, the health ministry in Warsaw said on Thursday. 

Pfizer took Poland to court after yearlong negotiations that failed to produce a settlement, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

In April last year, the Polish government asked Pfizer to cancel production and shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Poland, as the country faced the "higher necessity" of providing support to war-torn Ukraine, following Russia's February 2022 invasion, the health ministry said.

Poland also notified the European Union's executive Commission, and sought to reach a compromise with Pfizer, according to the government.

Gigant farmaceutyczny pozywa Warszawę. Chodzi o umowę szczepionkową https://t.co/QErNoQhGwF

— gazetaprawna.pl (@gazetaprawnapl) November 21, 2023

EU officials took part in the talks, the Polish health ministry told reporters.

"Pfizer's representatives failed to propose concrete solutions" and the yearlong negotiations ended without a settlement, according to the Polish government.

Pfizer filed a EUR 1.4 billion lawsuit against Poland over 60 million uncollected doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and the first hearing is due before a Brussels court on December 6, the health ministry said in a statement.

Health Minister Katarzyna Sójka said in a media interview on Wednesday that she was hopeful for "a positive resolution" to the dispute, the PAP news agency reported.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAP, Rynek Zdrowia