Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that Polish biotechnology company Mabion has signed a preliminary agreement to manufacture US vaccine company Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine with financial support from a state-run fund.

Mabion said on 3 March 2021 that it had signed a framework agreement with Novavax for the transfer of its COVID-19 vaccination technology, which is expected to be completed by the middle of 2021.

State-run PFR will provide Mabion with USD11m in loans and equity so the company can double its production capacity in central Poland.

The Chief Executive of PFR, Pawel Borys, was quoted as telling a conference: "The biggest challenge when it comes to the availability of vaccinations is the production capacity. This is what all vaccine producers are struggling with and this is the cause of delays. This investment is a direct response to these problems."

The Chief Executed of Mabion, Dirk Kreder, stated: "We look forward to a close cooperation with Novavax, which may pave the way for commercial scale production, provided that technology transfer and technical batch are successfully completed."

Reportedly, EU countries such as Poland have struggled to secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines sourced by the EU, leading some to step up their own efforts.

Poland, with a population of around 38 million, has so far vaccinated over three million people, mostly with COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

It has also secured eight million doses of Novavax's vaccine as part of EU joint purchases. The vaccine is yet to be approved by EU regulators, Reuters added.