Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

AstraZeneca accused of breaking promises as it looks to make a profit on COVID-19 vaccine

AstraZeneca accused of breaking promises as it looks to make a profit on COVID-19 vaccine

More than a billion doses of the jab have so far been released around the world by AZ and its partners but until now they have been sold at cost.

Oxfam has accused AstraZeneca of breaking its promises after the drugs firm said it planned to start earning a "modest" profit from its COVID-19 vaccine having previously sold it at cost.

The Anglo-Swedish company has until now not been making a profit from the Oxford coronavirus jab and said it would not do so during the pandemic.

The vaccine has in fact proved a drag on earnings so far this year according to latest financial results.

Third quarter revenues at the firm rose 50%


But explaining the change of approach, chief executive Pascal Soriot told reporters: "We started this project to help... but we also said that at some stage in the future, we will transition to commercial orders.

"It will never be high priced. Because we want the vaccine to remain affordable to everybody around the world."

Mr Soriot said the virus was becoming endemic, a term for a background level of infections that is part of everyday life.

But Anna Marriott, Oxfam's health policy manager, said: "AstraZeneca is breaking its repeated and celebrated public promises of a non-profit vaccine for all countries for the duration of this pandemic and to never to make a profit in any low and middle-income country from this publicly funded vaccine.

"It is turning its back on these commitments at a time when the pandemic still rages and 98% of people in the poorest countries are not yet fully vaccinated."

AstraZeneca pointed out that, when speaking to reporters, Mr Soriot had emphasised that its key focus remained delivering on its no-profit commitments.

Pfizer expects sales of its vaccine to top $36bn this year


The AZ chief executive also said: "Of course, we remain always true to our contracts and nothing has changed as it relates to the low-income countries."

The change of approach on the vaccine came in a trading update as AZ said it had supplied $2.22bn worth of the drug, representing delivery of 580 million doses, in the first nine months of 2021 - including $1.05bn in the third quarter.

When including partners sub-licensed to make the vaccine it has released 1.5bn doses for supply in more than 170 countries, the company said.

It said that it was "now expecting to progressively transition the vaccine to modest profitability as new orders are received".

That will result in a "limited" profit contribution from the last three months of this year though the "large majority" of sales in the period will come from agreements already in place, AZ said.

The results showed that, over the year-to-date, the company's profit margins have shrunk compared to last year "predominantly reflecting the equitable supply, at no profit to AstraZeneca, of the pandemic COVID-19 vaccine".

However for the third quarter the vaccine did make a small positive contribution to earnings.

AstraZeneca said its revenues for the quarter rose 50% to $9.87bn.

But profits fell short of expectations as the costs of integrating rare disease specialist Alexion, following a takeover, as well as a writedown on an experimental kidney treatment and investments into its drug pipeline took their toll.

In contrast, US rival Pfizer recently said that it expected to enjoy margins in the "high-20s" as a percentage of sales of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with Germany's BioNTech.

Those sales are expected to total $36bn this year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×