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AstraZeneca ordered to deliver 50 million vaccine doses to EU

pharmafile | June 21, 2021 | News story | Sales and Marketing  

A Belgian court has instructed AstraZeneca to deliver 50 million COVID-19 shots to the European Union following a dispute on a failure to deliver millions of doses.

The EU claimed the company had failed in its contractual duty by handing over only a fraction of the shots it was supposed to.

The EU has asked the court to fine AstraZeneca €10 million (£8.6 million) per infraction and to force AstraZeneca to pay €10 per dose for each day of delay as compensation for breaching the EU contract.

However, the court has accepted that the 220 million doses outstanding will never be delivered on time by AstraZeneca.

Instead, the company must deliver 50 million doses by 27 September, according to a strict schedule: 15 million doses by 26 July; 20 million doses by 23 August; and 15 million doses by 27 September.

Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said: “This decision confirms the position of the Commission: AstraZeneca did not live up to the commitments it made in the contract.

“It is good to see that an independent judge confirms this. This shows that our European vaccination campaign not only delivers for our citizens day by day. It also demonstrates that it was founded on a sound legal basis.”

The lawyer for AstraZeneca, Jeffrey Pott, said: “We are pleased with the Court’s order. AstraZeneca has fully complied with its agreement with the European Commission and we will continue to focus on the urgent task of supplying an effective vaccine, which we are delivering at no profit to help protect people in Europe and around the world from the deadliest pandemic in a generation.”

Lilly Subbotin

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