AstraZeneca PLC expects to deliver tens of millions less doses of Covid-19 vaccine than planned to the European Union in the coming months, according to people familiar with the case, threatening the big plans. to boost vaccines and deliver a new reputation to the drug dealer.
AstraZeneca revealed the deficit late Friday after informing European officials earlier in the day. He blamed manufacturing in Europe, but did not reveal the extent of the deficit.
According to people familiar with the matter, the company told European officials that AstraZeneca may only be able to deliver around 30 million of the estimated 80 million doses expected by EU countries in February and beyond. March, a decline of about 60% from earlier estimates of the company. AstraZeneca is working to significantly reduce that deficit and says that around 30 million doses is the minimum that should be able to be delivered, those people said.
The main reason for the manufacturing facility problem in Belgium with Novasep Holding SAS was that it could not produce as many vaccines as expected, the people said. A product called the facility, or the amount of vaccine it can make from basic ingredients, runs at about a third of what AstraZeneca expected, one of the people said. Novasep did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Vaccine yield can vary widely according to “seeding” measures, taken over weeks, to grow cells needed for the vaccine and later processes to filter and purify the material before packaged into filters. AstraZeneca has received a different product among its many manufacturing partners and has been working to increase productivity where it is declining, the person said. The process is laborious and time consuming. Reuters first announced the number of doses AstraZeneca may no longer be able to deliver.