The British pharmaceutical group AstraZenena announced this Wednesday the end of sales of its vaccine against Covid Vaxzevria, one of the first produced during the pandemic, after a reduction in demand.
“As multiple vaccines against Covid-19 variants have since been developed, there is a surplus of updated vaccines available. This has led to a drop in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being produced or supplied,” the group said in a statement.
AstraZeneca has decided to begin withdrawing Vaxzevria from the market in Europe, the note adds.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) reported this Tuesday on its website that Vaxzevria’s sales authorization was withdrawn “at the request of the authorization holder”, that is, the pharmaceutical laboratory.
The group will also “work with other regulators around the world to begin withdrawing authorizations (…) in locations with no anticipated future demand for the vaccine.”
AstraZeneca says it wants to “complete this chapter” and highlighted “pride in Vaxzevria’s role in ending the global pandemic.”
“According to independent estimates, more than 6.5 million lives were saved in just the first year of use of the medicine. And more than 3 billion doses have been distributed worldwide,” the company added.
The vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, was one of the first to reach the market, despite not being among the British group’s specialties. The drug faced several setbacks, including the lack of marketing authorization in the United States.
It also faced distribution problems in Europe, as well as suspicions of increasing the risk of thrombosis.
Furthermore, the world has prioritized mRNA vaccines, in particular the one produced by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in partnership with the German company BioNTech.
Vaxzevria sales fell further with the end of global Covid restrictions.
Tags: AstraZeneca withdraws Covid19 vaccine market drop demand
