Prepares legal case against AstraZeneca over vaccine deficiencies – POLITICO

The European Commission is preparing to initiate legal proceedings against the vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca, according to five EU diplomats.

The commission raised the issue on Wednesday at a meeting of ambassadors, at which most EU countries said they would support the company’s lawsuit for complaints it did not massively offer guaranteed doses to the bloc.

One diplomat said the purpose of the court proceedings was to make it mandatory for AstraZeneca to provide the doses set out in its EU contract.

Two diplomats said there was a deadline at the end of this week, when EU countries must sign the launch of legal proceedings.

AstraZeneca angered the EU in January, when it said it would not be able to provide the bloc with the number of doses initially anticipated. By the end of the first quarter, the company had delivered 30 million doses to EU countries, rather than the 100 million doses guaranteed in its EU contract. The lack has severely hampered vaccination campaigns in EU countries.

The company has projected to deliver around 70 million doses by the end of the second quarter of the year, when it should have delivered all 300 million doses guaranteed in the EU contract.

This article is part of politicalpremium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and more, our specialist journalists keep you up to date on the topics that drive the health care policy agenda. E-mail [email protected] for a free trial.

.Source