AstraZeneca PLC expects to deliver tens of millions less Covid-19 vaccine doses than planned to the European Union in the coming months, according to people familiar with the matter, threatening the continent’s plans to ramp up vaccinations and giving the drug manufacturer a new one. reputation blow.
AstraZeneca revealed the deficit late on Friday after briefing European officials earlier in the day. It blamed a manufacturing problem in Europe, but did not reveal the size of the deficit.
According to people familiar with the case, the company told European officials that in the worst case scenario, AstraZeneca would be able to deliver only about 30 million of the roughly 80 million doses EU countries had expected for February and March, a decrease of about 60% from the company’s previous estimates. AstraZeneca is working to significantly reduce that potential shortage and says the roughly 30 million doses is the minimum it should be able to deliver, these people said.
The root cause of the problem is a production facility in Belgium owned by Novasep Holding SAS that has not been able to make as many bulk vaccines as expected, the people said. The facility’s so-called yield, or the amount of vaccine it can make from basic ingredients, is about a third of AstraZeneca’s expectations, one said. Novasep did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
The yields of vaccines can vary widely depending on the “seeding” steps taken over weeks to grow cells needed to make the vaccine and later stage processes to filter and purify the substance before entering bottles are packed. AstraZeneca has found yields vary between its many manufacturing partners and has worked to boost production where it lags, the person said. The process is labor and time intensive. Reuters first reported the number of doses AstraZeneca may no longer be able to deliver.