Astrazeneca is withdrawing its corona vaccine from the market

The pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca is withdrawing its corona vaccine from the market – for economic reasons. The British company said there is now a surplus of vaccines against the coronavirus and this has led to a decline in demand for the drug “Vaxzevria”. The vaccine will therefore “no longer be manufactured or delivered”. On Tuesday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on its website that the marketing authorization for the drug had been withdrawn at the manufacturer’s request.

Astrazeneca was one of the first manufacturers to bring a corona vaccine onto the market. This is a type of vaccine based on vector viruses that has previously been approved against other diseases. A number of vaccines now exist, particularly the mRNA vaccine from BioNTech/Pfizer has been successful.

In recent years, very rare complications after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine have led to those wanting to be vaccinated turning to other preparations. According to media reports, the drugmaker has admitted in court documents that the vaccine “Vaxzevria” causes side effects such as blood clots and low platelet counts.

After the strict pandemic rules were lifted worldwide, demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine fell significantly again. According to informed sources, there have been no sales for “some time.”

According to its own statements, the British company has already started taking the drug off the market in Europe, the Middle East and the Arab region. The company wants to work with other authorities to initiate the withdrawal of market approval in places where commercial demand for “Vaxzevria” is no longer expected in the future.

At the same time, the company was “incredibly proud” of having contributed to combating the corona pandemic and saving lives. Over three billion vaccine doses were delivered worldwide during the pandemic. But now Astrazeneca wants to “close this chapter”.

AR/sti (afp/rtr)

*The article “Astrazeneca is withdrawing its corona vaccine from the market” is published by Deutsche Welle. Contact the person responsible here.