AstraZeneca hits back at European Union for delaying vaccine exports

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has hit back at the European Union over obstacles in the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine to the bloc.

AstraZeneca chief manager Pascal Soriot shot back at EU officials who criticized the kitchen for providing "considerably fewer doses" than agreed, saying his company "certainly does not take vaccines from Europeans to sell them elsewhere at a profit".

The French CEO held the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company said in an interview given on Tuesday to LENA (Leading European Newspaper Alliance) and published in several other European newspapers.

The laboratory, partnered with the University of Oxford, has promised not to make a profit on the sale of vaccines as the pandemic. Brussels also raised its tone on Monday in its stand-off with AstraZeneca, deeming the delays in fulfilling its COVID-19 vaccine "unacceptable". The European Commission is now demanding "clarity" on exports outside the EU of doses produced in the bloc.

Soriot claims to have had some major start-up issues in the UK supply chain as well, but "the UK contract was signed three months before the EU contract. So with the UK, we had three more months to resolve the problems encountered".

While the EU regulatory green light for this vaccine is expected on Friday, the British laboratory published last week that delivery would be lower than assumed in the first quarter due to a "drop-in production" at a European manufacturing site.

The slowdown in return has alarmed EU countries, now on edge after difficulties in delivering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. It increases the pressure on the European Commission, which negotiated the pre-order contracts on behalf of the EU27.

These relate to up to 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, which has the advantage of being more inferior to produce than its rivals while happening easier to store and transport.