Moderna Inc (MRNA), one of the frontrunners in the coronavirus vaccine race, announced Monday it's closing in on signing a new supply agreement.

What Happened: Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna said it has concluded advanced exploratory talks with the European Commission to supply 80 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate – mRNA-1273.

The agreement also provides an option for member states to purchase an additional 80 million doses.

"We appreciate the European Commission's collaboration in helping to ensure that Europeans will have access to a safe and effective vaccine, and we are proud that the European Commission has recognized the potential of our mRNA vaccine technology," said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.

The company has a supply deal in place with the U.S. government.

What's Next? Moderna said the Phase 3 study, which began July 27, is on track to be completed in September.

On Friday, the company said about 44% of the target population of 30,000 has already been enrolled in the late-stage study, dubbed COVE.

Moderna affirmed Monday it's scaling up global manufacturing to help it deliver about 500 million doses of the vaccine per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, beginning in 2021.

Moderna is collaborating with Swiss CDMO Lonza and Spain's ROVI to manufacture and fill-finish outside of the U.S.

Moderna shares were slipping 2% to $65.1o at the time of publication.