British pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca announced on Wednesday that it was withdrawing from sale its Covid-19 vaccine Vaxzevria, one of the first put on the market during the pandemic, citing a fall in demand.
The group reports a “surplus of updated vaccines” in the face of different variants of the virus and a “decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer manufactured or distributed”, in a press release. “Astrazeneca has therefore taken the decision to initiate the withdrawal of the marketing authorization for Vaxzevria in Europe,” according to this press release received by AFP on Wednesday.
This vaccine, one of the very first on the market even though serums were not Astrazeneca’s specialty, had suffered several setbacks, including a green light for marketing which never arrived in the United States.
It also experienced delivery problems in Europe, combined with suspicions of increased risks of thrombosis following several deaths.
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“Astrazeneca simply lost the race,” virologist Steven Van Gucht confides to our colleagues at Het Laatste Nieeuws. “We have known for a long time that the vaccine can trigger thrombosis in very rare cases. But that doesn’t outweigh the benefits. If Astrazeneca is now throwing in the towel, it is because it recognizes that the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer protect better against Covid. They can no longer win this competition and therefore decide to give up. »
In its press release, Astrazeneca said it wanted to “conclude this chapter”. A Source close to Astrazeneca told AFP that there had been “no sales for some time”.
“We are incredibly proud of the role that Vaxzevria has played in ending the pandemic,” adds the group in its press release, affirming that “according to independent estimates, more than 6.5 million lives were saved during the pandemic alone.” first year of use” of the serum, “and more than three billion doses have been distributed around the world.”
