AstraZeneca and European Commission Reach Settlement Agreement Over COVID-19 Vaccine Supply

According to a Sept. 3, 2021, press release, AstraZeneca and the European Commission have reached an agreement that ends legal proceedings over the execution of the advance purchase agreement for the delivery of Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S [Recombinant]), a COVID-19 vaccine. The European Commission’s legal proceedings against AstraZeneca were initiated in Brussels on April 21, 2021, and court hearings were scheduled at end of Sept. 2021.

AstraZeneca committed to delivering:

• 60 million doses of Vaxzevria by Q3 2021,
• 75 million doses of Vaxzevria by the end of Q4 2021, and
• 65 million doses of Vaxzevria by the end of Q1 2022.

Regular delivery schedules will be provided to Member States, and capped rebates will apply in the event of any delayed doses. AstraZeneca and its partners have thus far supplied more than 1.1 billion doses of vaccine to more than 170 countries. Approximately two-thirds have gone to low- and middle-income countries, according to a company press release.

“I’m very pleased that we have been able to reach a common understanding which allows us to move forward and work in collaboration with the European Commission to help overcome the pandemic,” Ruud Dobber, executive vice president, biopharmaceuticals business unit, AstraZeneca, said in the press release. “We are fully committed to manufacture Vaxzevria for Europe following the release for supply of more than 140 million doses to date at no profit. We are also looking forward to working with the European Commission in a joint effort to further support COVAX.”

Source: AstraZeneca