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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Empty vials of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photograph
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:) mentioned on Friday the European Union had misplaced a authorized case in opposition to the pharmaceutical agency over the provision of COVID-19 vaccines, with a courtroom in Brussels rejecting an EU request for extra deliveries by the tip of June.
However European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned Friday’s ruling supported the EU’s view that AstraZeneca — in opposition to which the bloc has just lately launched a second lawsuit — had failed to satisfy its commitments.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical big dedicated in a contract to do its greatest to ship 300 million doses to the 27-nation bloc by the tip of June, however manufacturing issues led the corporate to revise down its goal to 100 million vaccines.
The provision cuts delayed the EU’s vaccination drive within the first quarter of the 12 months, when the bloc had initially guess on AstraZeneca to ship the most important quantity of its pictures. That led to a bitter dispute and to the EU’s authorized motion to get not less than 120 million doses by the tip of June.
However AstraZeneca mentioned a choose had dominated that it ought to ship solely 80.2 million doses by a deadline of Sept. 27. The corporate mentioned it will “considerably exceed” that quantity by the tip of June.
The courtroom mentioned in a press release that AstraZeneca should ship 15 million doses by July 26, one other 20 million by Aug. 23 and one other 15 million by Sept. 27, for a complete of fifty million doses.
Ought to the corporate miss these deadlines it will face a penalty of “10 euros ($11.8) per dose not delivered”, the EU Fee mentioned.
AstraZeneca mentioned different measures sought by the Fee had been dismissed, and the courtroom had discovered that the EU had no exclusivity or proper of precedence over different events the drugmaker had contracts with.
“The judgment additionally acknowledged that the difficulties skilled by AstraZeneca on this unprecedented state of affairs had a considerable impression on the delay,” AstraZeneca mentioned in a press release.
“AstraZeneca now seems ahead to renewed collaboration with the European Fee to assist fight the pandemic in Europe.”
The European Union final month launched a second lawsuit in opposition to the drugmaker searching for monetary penalties for the delays to vaccine provide.
“This choice confirms the place of the Fee: AstraZeneca didn’t reside as much as the commitments it made within the contract,” Fee President von der Leyen mentioned on Friday.
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