AstraZeneca Exclusive Exploration Options for the COVID-19 Vaccine Business – Executive

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For AstraZeneca to have clarity on future of vaccines by year end, Exec Dobber says no decision has been made yet on future of COVID-19 vaccine, Dobber says vaccine not a distraction

LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca Inc (AZN.L) is exploring options for the future of a COVID-19 vaccine and expects more clarity on the matter by the end of 2021, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday.

The vaccine future review comes after a series of setbacks in its race to produce a shot for the world. Executives emphasized that it was too early to make a decision about the future of the vaccine.

AstraZeneca agreed to work with Oxford University on a COVID-19 vaccine launch last year despite having no prior experience with the vaccine, while pledging not to turn a profit during the coronavirus pandemic.

While a $39 billion deal to buy rare drug company Alexion is an integral part of the company’s business strategy, the COVID-19 vaccine is quickly becoming the public face of the company’s efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

“A small group of people have reported to Maine (Pangalos, Head of Research) and I’m thinking: Is this a sustainable business?” AstraZeneca’s executive vice president and head of the biologics business unit, Rod Dober, said, referring to the vaccine business.

“We need to have this discussion with our first executive team, and then with the AstraZeneca board of directors. We are exploring different options, but it’s still too early at this point to conclude that (the process).”

“Before the end of the year we will have more clarity,” Dauberre added.

“Hopefully before the end of the year we will have a better vision of how to move forward in the next few years,” he said.

“If you ask me, is the vaccine business a sustainable business for AstraZeneca for the next five or 10 years, that big strategic question is under discussion.”

Too early

AstraZeneca has been criticized by the European Union for supplying the shots, and a lawsuit is being brought by the bloc. The vaccine also faced age restrictions due to rare clots associated with the vaccine and its application for US approval is longer than expected.

CEO Pascal Soriot said he has no regrets about participating in COVID-19 vaccines because the company has made a “huge difference”.

It has delivered one billion doses around the world and is celebrated by the British government as a national success story for the epidemic. Read more

Dopper said AstraZeneca’s “first commitment” was to provide hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine covered by current contracts.

“This is not a distraction,” he said.

He added that the company would honor its pledge to provide a widely available and accessible vaccine. Soriot said a vaccine will always be within reach of low-income countries, even as the company moves away from a not-for-profit model.

Results released Thursday showed vaccine sales in the second quarter tripled to $894 million compared to the first three months of the year. Read more

But, unlike competitors including Pfizer (PFE.N), this remains a drag on profits overall, and Dobber said that if the vaccine business is sustainable, the company will have to stop incurring a loss.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to not make a little bit of money going forward,” Dobbere said. “It’s not sustainable to do so without profits, but it’s too early to speculate.”

(Additional reporting by Alistair Smoot in London and Bochkala Arabiaca in Bengaluru.) Editing by Jason Neely, Josephine Mason and Jean Harvey

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