AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom and Sweden, has announced that it has reached an agreement with the European Commission to end the legal proceedings surrounding the execution of the Advance Purchase Agreement for the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine.
AstraZeneca has agreed to provide 60 million vaccine doses by the end of the third quarter of 2021, 75 million by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, and 65 million by the end of the first quarter of 2022 under the terms of the agreement. Regular delivery schedules will be supplied to Member States, with capped rebates in the event of any dose delays.
Ruud Dobber, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “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. 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.”
On April 21, 2021, the European Commission began legal proceedings against AstraZeneca in Brussels. The court dates were set for the end of September 2021.
AstraZeneca and its partners have sent over 1.1 billion vaccine doses to over 170 countries, with over two-thirds going to low- and lower-middle-income nations.