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AstraZeneca Pulls COVID-19 Vaccine Amid Disappearing Demand
May 9, 2024
AstraZeneca has announced that it will be pulling its COVID-19 vaccine from the market, citing a decrease in demand.
According to Quartz, the Cambridge, U.K.-based company made the official announcement on Wednesday, May 8. In addition, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on its website that the company’s vaccine’s marketing authorization was withdrawn, meaning the vaccine can no longer be sold in the European Union (EU).
The vaccine was known by its market name, Vaxzevria.
“As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines,” AstraZeneca said in emailed statement to the outlet. “This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied. AstraZeneca has therefore taken the decision to initiate withdrawal of the Marketing Authorisations for Vaxzevria within Europe.”
The company also noted that they were “incredibly proud” of the vaccine, which was developed alongside the University of Oxford during the height of the pandemic.
AstraZeneca is not alone in experiencing a post-pandemic COVID-19 slump.
Founded in 2010, Moderna is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm that sold $167 million in Q1 from its sole product, the COVID-19 vaccine. This represents a 91% decrease from the $1.9 billion in revenues the company reported in Q1 2023, with a $1.18 billion net loss.
Given that vaccine demand has been declining since 2021, the recent steep drop in sales is not surprising. In fact, according to the Massachusetts-based business, the drop in sales “aligns with the anticipated transition to a seasonal COVID-19 vaccine market,” as reported by Fortune.
In an effort to recover from the post-pandemic downturn, Moderna further stated that it will start expanding the range of mRNA vaccines it offers, including a seasonal flu shot and a vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In Q3 2024, the RSV vaccine is anticipated to be released should it be cleared to do so.
Last week, Moderna affirmed that its Q1 2024 net loss of $1.18 billion exceeded the $1.4 billion that Wall Street had predicted. The business stated that it expects full-year sales of $4 billion.
AstraZeneca hasn’t yet disclosed what it will do to recover from this reported loss.
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