AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” since the pandemic.
The company successfully requested the withdrawal of the vaccine Vaxzevria’s marketing authorisations in Europe, with the EU Commission Implementing Decision confirmed on March 27, and in effect from May 7.
AstraZeneca said that as multiple variant-based COVID vaccines had been developed since the pandemic there was a surplus of available updated vaccines, leading to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which would no longer be manufactured or supplied.
The company suffered from being the market-initiator, with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine emerging as the first mass produced vaccine rolled out under government-backed initiatives.
About 2.5 billion doses were administered in 2021 with an estimate 6.3 million lives saved globally as a result. However, lingering concerns about the minimal but well-established risk of thrombocytopenia, myocarditis, and other adverse effects from the vaccine.
In a piece for The Conversation this week, Dr Michael Head, a Senior Research Fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, shared how the British Heart Foundation estimated that:
“For every 10 million people who are vaccinated with AstraZeneca, there are 66 extra cases of blood clots in the veins and seven extra cases of a rare type of blood clot in the brain. By comparisons, infection with COVID is estimated to cause 12,614 extra cases of blood clots in the veins and 20 cases of rare blood clots in the brain.”
AstraZeneca has admitted in court documents that the vaccine caused side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts – fuelling further vaccine hesitancy online.
As a result, the company moved to the production of RSV vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year – with remarkable success.
AstraZeneca’s financial statement for the first quarter, published 25 April 2024, showed that Total Revenue was up 19% to $12,679m, driven by “an 18% increase in Product Sales and continued growth in Alliance Revenue from partnered medicines.”
“Combined sales of Enhertu, recorded by Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited (Daiichi Sankyo) and AstraZeneca, amounted to $879m in Q1 2024 (compared to $531m in Q1 2023), with combined sales of Tezspire, recorded by Amgen and AstraZeneca, reaching $216m in Q1 2024 (Q1 2023: $105m).
The company also enjoyed double-digit growth in Total Revenue from Oncology at 26%, CVRM at 23%, R&I at 17%, and Rare Disease at 16%, thanks to a Core Product Sales Gross Margin of 82% – earning shareholders an increased dividend, up by $0.20 per share to US $3.10.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s CEO, said the company had ‘a very strong start in 2024’ and were looking forward to seeing the results of several important trials throughout the year.