AstraZeneca welcomes Court ruling on supply of its COVID-19 vaccine to Europe

AstraZeneca welcomed the ruling by the Court of First Instance in Brussels. The European Commission had requested 120 million vaccine doses cumulatively by the end of June 2021, and a total of 300 million doses by the end of September 2021. The judge ordered delivery of 80.2 million doses by 27 September 2021. To date, the Company has supplied more than 70 million doses to the European Union and will substantially exceed 80.2 million doses by the end of June 2021. All other measures sought by the European Commission have been dismissed, and in particular the Court found that the European Commission has no exclusivity or right of priority over all other contracting parties.

The judgement also acknowledged that the difficulties experienced by AstraZeneca in this unprecedented situation had a substantial impact on the delay. AstraZeneca now looks forward to renewed collaboration with the European Commission to help combat the pandemic in Europe. The Company remains committed to broad and equitable distribution of the vaccine as laid out in the Advanced Purchase Agreement of August 2020.

In fewer than twelve months, AstraZeneca has worked extremely hard to develop an effective vaccine at no profit and is the second-largest supplier to the EU’s 27 member states.

The supply of the vaccine is estimated to have helped save tens of thousands of lives and to have significantly reduced hospitalisations.(1,2) Real World Evidence has consistently shown a greater than 90% reduction in severe disease and hospitalisations caused by COVID-19,(3-6) while recent data from England and Scotland demonstrated 92% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation from the Delta (previously called “Indian”) variant.(5,6)

Jeffrey Pott, General Counsel, said: "We are pleased with the Court’s order. AstraZeneca has fully complied with its agreement with the European Commission and we will continue to focus on the urgent task of supplying an effective vaccine, which we are delivering at no profit to help protect people in Europe and around the world from the deadliest pandemic in a generation."

The Company continues to engage with governments, international organisations and collaborators around the world to ensure broad and equitable access to this well-tolerated and effective vaccine at no profit during the pandemic period.

About Vaxzevria

Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S [Recombinant]), formerly AZD1222, was co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech. It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

1. AstraZeneca PLC.COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca confirms 100% protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death in the primary analysis of Phase III trials. [Online]. Available at: https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-confirms-protection-against-severe-disease-hospitalisation-and-death-in-the-primary-analysis-of-phase-iii-trials.html [Last accessed: 21 Mar 2021]
2. EMA assessment report, Vaxzevria. April 23rd 2021. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/referral/use-vaxzevria-prevent-covid-19-article-53-procedure-assessment-report_en.pdf [Last accessed 4th June 2021]
3. Park Y-J, et al; Analysis of the initial effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in the first quarter of 2021. Available at http://kdca.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a20602010000&bid=0034&list_no=713241&act=view [Last accessed: 17 May 2021].
4. Impatto della vaccinazione COVID-19 sul rischio di infezione da SARS-CoV-2 e successivo ricovero e decesso in Italia (27.12.2020 - 03.05.2021). Report by Istituto Superiore di Sanita’ and Ministero della Salute. Available at https://www.epicentro.iss.it/vaccini/pdf/report-valutazione-impatto-vaccinazione-covid-19-15-mag-2021.pdf [Last accessed: 17 May 2021].
5. Stowe J, et. al; Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against hospital admission with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant. Available at https://khub.net/web/phe-national/public-library/-/document_library/v2WsRK3ZlEig/view_file/479607329?_com_liferay_document_library_web_portlet_DLPortlet_INSTANCE_v2WsRK3ZlEig_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fkhub.net%3A443%2Fweb%2Fphe-national%2Fpublic-library%2F-%2Fdocument_library%2Fv2WsRK3ZlEig%2Fview%2F479607266. [Last accessed: 17 June 2021].
6. Sheikh A, et. al; SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Scotland: demographics, risk of hospital admission, and vaccine effectiveness. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01358-1. [Last accessed: 17 June 2021].