BRUSSELS (Reuters) – AstraZeneca’s new target of supplying 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the European Union by the end of March depends on the approval of supplies from a factory in the Netherlands by regulator block medicines.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmacist said on Friday that it would try to deliver 30 million doses to the EU by the end of March, contrary to the contractual obligation of 90 million and the previous promise made last month to deliver 40 million doses.
The new lower target, which was confirmed by a previous Reuters report, is not guaranteed as it depends on a vaccine factory in Leiden run by subcontractor Halix to get regulatory approval, according to the March 10 internal document.
AstraZeneca stated in the document seen by Reuters that it is supposed that the Halix factory will get the green light on March 25 and that it has released about 10 million doses over the next week.
A European Commission spokesman said on Saturday that the EU executive was in talks with the company to make sure it did its best to meet its commitments. He made no comment on Halix’s approval.
Asked about possible sanctions, he said: “The important thing is that we ensure the delivery of a sufficient number of doses in accordance with the company’s previous commitments. We are studying all options for this to happen.”
EU leaders have been on fire for deploying vaccines at a much slower pace than neighboring Britain due to a longer approval and purchase process, as well as repeated delays in AstraZeneca supplies and other drug manufacturers.
SIZES OF THE SECOND QUARTER
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in a statement that the Halix factory had not yet been approved and declined to comment on when any authorization could be granted.
An EU official close to the EMA decision-making told Reuters that a decision “perhaps” could come in late March.
It was unclear whether any delay in plant approval would also affect AstraZeneca’s vaccine supplies to the EU during the second quarter.
A spokesman for AstraZeneca declined to comment on the factory’s approval status or its production and storage capacity. Halix declined to comment on its regulatory approval.
Halix’s plant in Leiden is one of four mentioned as vaccine manufacturers for the EU in AstraZeneca’s supply contract with Brussels signed in August.
However, only one from Belgium has been used to supply the block so far, according to EU officials, who have noted that two UK plants have not exported vaccines to the EU.
In its statement on Friday, AstraZeneca also said it “intends” to deliver 70 million doses to the EU between April and June, despite contractual obligations of 180 million shots.
He said export restrictions had prevented him from boosting supplies to the EU from its global network to make up for production problems in the EU supply chain.
Shortly after Reuters reported in February that the company had told the EU it could deliver less than 90 million doses in the second quarter, AstraZeneca said it was still committed to reaching the 180 million supply target.
Overall, the pharmaceutical company aims to ship only 100 million vaccines to the EU by the end of June, instead of the 300 million provided for in the contract.
Reports from Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio in Brussels; Additional reports of Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by David Clarke and Mike Harrison