In an upbeat earnings report today (April 30), Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca reported $275 million in revenue from its Covid-19 vaccine in the first three months of the year.
It's not like the poor babies are suffering either.
AstraZeneca, the British maker of a COVID-19 vaccine with Oxford University, said Thursday its 2020 net profit more than doubled to $3.2 billion thanks to strong sales growth of cancer drugs.
“MSF welcomes AstraZeneca’s commitment to sell the vaccine at a ‘no-profit’ price during the pandemic, but the reality is that it’s an empty promise unless we’re able to substantiate these important claims with data,” said Roz Scourse of medical group MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders.The organisation urged AstraZeneca to disclose the contracts signed with governments for its vaccine, and said there could be clauses that limit the price until the company declares the end of the health emergency, which could be as early as July.
AstraZeneca can charge a higher price for its Covid-19 vaccine in dozens of poor countries once the pharmaceutical company decides the pandemic has ended, according to a copy of its contract with Oxford University seen by the Guardian.The British-Swedish drug firm has promised to provide the vaccine at a not-for-profit price to the developing world in perpetuity, but a review of a redacted version of its contract with Oxford University – obtained by the student advocacy group Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) – found that the promise excludes many low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Among those left off the list are 34 countries – including Angola, Honduras, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Zimbabwe – classified by Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO) as being in need of vaccine support, which could all be charged a higher price once AstraZeneca declares the pandemic has ended.In contrast to its pharmaceutical competitors, AstraZeneca has forgone billions of dollars in revenue by providing its vaccine at cost price, a promise that was key to securing its partnership with Oxford’s Jenner Institute, where the formulation was developed.
Critics say that though AstraZeneca is doing more to ensure global vaccine access than any other company, estimates that 97% of the funding for development of the Oxford vaccine came from taxpayers and charitable sources mean it should be considered a public commodity.Other vaccines, such as Moderna’s mRNA formulation, were also heavily subsidised by the public but are already making billions of dollars in profit for their shareholders.
