Yet again, vaccines have emerged as a point of contention between AstraZeneca and health officials in Europe. This time, though, AZ has devised a quick fix.
After sparring with Swiss health authorities over the proposed price of its nasal spray flu vaccine—sold in countries like the U.K., Ireland and Italy as Fluenz Tetra—AstraZeneca has elected to simply give the doses away, the company confirmed to Fierce Pharma.
Thanks to the cost breakdown proposed by authorities, AZ says it has “decided to stop entering the market” with its vaccine in Switzerland. Swissinfo reported earlier this week that the move had left some 10,000 flu vaccine doses locked in cold storage. Now, “instead of letting the available cans expire unused,” AZ says it will donate some 10,000 doses to the country.
According to Swiss outlet Keystone-SDA, AstraZeneca had requested a payout more than twice what the country might spend for other influenza vaccines.
The intranasal vaccines can be ordered free of charge by Swiss doctors and other healthcare professionals, who are then required to offer the nasal spray at no cost, the company said.
While 10,000 doses are likely a drop in the bucket for a global juggernaut like AZ, the donation comes at an uncertain time for the British pharma’s vaccines business overall. Apart from its nasal spray flu vaccine, which goes by the name FluMist Quadrivalent in the U.S., AstraZeneca’s only other vaccine is its University of Oxford-partnered COVID-19 shot Vaxzevria.
After a string of setbacks that caused the company to miss the emergency authorization window at the FDA, AstraZeneca earlier this month pulled the plug on its Vaxzevria application in the U.S.
In the third quarter, AZ’s global COVID vaccine sales cratered 83% to just $173 million.
AstraZeneca’s inoculation efforts have struggled in the clinic, too. Last month, the company’s Vaxzevria nasal spray candidate flunked a phase 1 trial, failing to trigger a strong immune response in the nasal mucosa of most recipients.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s run in vaccines may be coming to an end, executives have hinted.
Over the summer, AZ CEO Pascal Soriot told Reuters the company was weighing whether to stay in the vaccine business long-term. Instead, the company is looking to prioritize its roster of antibodies–including for COVID-19–plus respiratory syncytial virus and other infections, Soriot said at the time.