LONDON – AstraZeneca PLC has said it is rectifying problems with its Covid-19 vaccine and expects to double its monthly production to 200 million doses in April as it tries to get past a rocky start to the rollout of the shot to move.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker reported strong earnings for the full year and predicted an increase in earnings in 2021. The forecast has no bearing on sales of the pandemic vaccine it developed with Oxford University.
Like other vaccine manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Oxford are working on new versions of the shot to target existing and emerging variants of the coronavirus. The drugmaker said Thursday it hopes to produce a customized scale vaccine within six to nine months, using clinical trial data and already manufacturing agreements.
Last year, AstraZeneca stumbled across the release of clinical trial results and recently had a shortage of doses assigned to the European Union. CEO Pascal Soriot and other executives said Thursday they are working out production bumps and will meet targets to deliver more than 400 million doses to rich and poor countries in the coming months. This follows on from green lights in the UK, Europe and beyond for the use of the vaccine, which has not yet been approved for US use.
The World Health Organization this week recommended the shot for widespread global use, including in countries struggling with a new strain of the coronavirus that was first detected in South Africa. Limited trial data have suggested that the vaccine is less effective against the virus version, although it appears to be a rapidly spreading variant first seen in the UK, especially against severe symptoms.
The company’s problems raising the vaccine, along with questions about the effectiveness of the shot, hit the share price and put drivers in the defense. The bipolar vaccine is approximately 60 to 70% effective in clinical trials in the control of symptomatic Covid-19, depending on the distance of each other and other factors.
The adoption of the shot in December and January was positive for AstraZeneca, but was offset by manufacturing shortages that led to a striking stance with European officials in January.
“Is it perfect? No, it’s not perfect, but it’s great, and tell me who’s earning another 100 million doses in the month of February,” said Dr. Soriot said on a call. His executives and he said the vaccine has shown strong protection against severe Covid symptoms and that it is crucial to prevent hospitalizations and deaths.
Despite the complications of the pandemic and the problems the vaccine presents, the drugmaker has performed well over the past year, analysts said.
“It was critical that [AstraZeneca] demonstrate that the strong momentum of their key business has not been affected. [They] did not disappoint, ‘said Citigroup analyst Andrew Baum.
AstraZeneca, better known for its established oncology drugs and other treatments, reported $ 26.6 billion in revenue for the year, up 9% from the previous year. The annual profit after tax of $ 3.1 billion was more than double the previous year.
It discussed $ 2 million in sales in 2020 with the Covid-19 vaccine, which provided the earliest, limited look at the start of its global campaign to deliver 3 billion doses this year. The company undertook not to take advantage of the vaccine during the pandemic, or ever, in the case of lower-income countries.
The UK was the first to approve the shot for massive vaccinations, on 30 December. A spokesman for AstraZeneca said vaccine sales are only discussed when doses are shipped, and that the $ 2 million sale is reimbursed by the cost.
The company did not provide guidance on the expected vaccine sales. In contrast, Pfizer Inc. said last week that it expects its Covid-19 vaccine to generate about $ 15 billion in sales this year, making it one of the U.S. company’s top-selling products. The vaccine, developed with German BioNTech SE, contributed $ 154 million in sales in the fourth quarter, Pfizer said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine, the first to be cleared for emergency use in the U.S. on Dec. 11.
There is no clear consensus on whether AstraZeneca can ultimately benefit from the vaccine, or how much it will do. The company said it would break out of Covid-19 vaccine sales separately next quarter. The shot averages between $ 3 and $ 5 per dose, much cheaper than most vaccines used or in test tubes. The price and ease of transportation, coupled with AstraZeneca’s ambitious production plans, have made it an important part of the hope for lower-income countries to leave the pandemic.
There is uncertainty about all vaccine sales over the sales of their shots, with the expectation that new vaccines will increase competition, and mutations in the virus that will drive drug manufacturers to adapt shots. Long-term sales depend on the success of modified shots and the trajectory of the pandemic.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected]