ASTRAZENECA INITIATES WITHDRAWAL OF COVID-19 VACCINE VAXZEVRIA

By Massita Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- British-Swedish biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has decided to initiate the withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a lack of demand.

In an email response to Bernama following reports that it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of the vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic, an AstraZeneca spokesperson said the company has taken the decision to initiate the withdrawal of the Marketing Authorisations for Vaxzevria within Europe.

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The spokesperson said AstraZeneca’s efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component in ending the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic,” said the AstraZeneca spokesperson.

Countries across the globe, including Malaysia, have opted for AstraZeneca as part of their COVID-19 vaccine portfolio at the height of the pandemic.

“As multiple variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines,” said the spokesperson, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzervria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

Citing an independent estimate, the spokesperson said over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. 

“We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and significant contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic” said the spokesperson.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) in its public statement dated March 27, 2024, said the European Commission (EC) withdrew the marketing authorisation for Vaxzevria in the European Union (EU) on the same day (March 27).

The EMA said the withdrawal was at the request of the marketing authorisation holder, AstraZeneca AB, which notified the commission of its decision to permanently discontinue the marketing of the product for commercial reasons.

Vaxzevria was granted conditional marketing authorisation in the EU on Jan 29, 2021, for active immunisation against COVID-19.

The conditional marketing authorisation was switched to a standard marketing authorisation, valid for five years, on Oct 31, 2022.

The European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) for Vaxzevria will be updated to indicate that the marketing authorisation is no longer valid, said the EMA, the decentralised agency of the EU responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines.

--BERNAMA