UK Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, said on Tuesday that the UK had cancelled its contract for about 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by French biotechnology company Valneva SE (EPA:VLA) in part because it was clear it would not be approved for use in the country, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.

Javid was quoted as replying to as Scottish lawmaker: "There are commercial reasons that we have cancelled the contract, but what I can tell her is that it was also clear to us that the vaccine in question that the company was developing would not get approval by the MHRA here in the UK."

The company had said on Monday that the UK had alleged it was in breach of its obligations under the supply agreement. It strenuously denied the charge.

Valneva's vaccine is being produced in Livingston, Scotland, using an adjuvant made by US biopharmaceutical company Dynavax Technologies (Nasdaq:DVAX). The facility has capacity to produce around 200 million doses in 2022.