AstraZeneca must justify ‘unequal’ vaccine pricing after bumper profits
Date: 11 February 2021
Campaigns: Pharma
Reacting to AstraZeneca’s full year results today, Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said:
“AstraZeneca’s bumper profits today show the company can easily afford to provide its Covid-19 vaccine at cost price during the pandemic and beyond. But despite this pledge, it has yet to address the question of why lower-income countries like South Africa and Uganda are paying several times more per dose than the European Union. This is not the ‘equitable access’ AstraZeneca has been trumpeting in its press releases.
“This global inequality cannot continue. If a booster shot is required to deal with Covid-19 variants, will AstraZeneca commit to providing it at the same price to all countries, including as a condition of any sub-licensing agreements? It is an outrage that the countries with the least resources are being charged the most in the midst of a global health emergency.”
Notes1. https://www.astrazeneca.com/investor-relations/full-year-2020-results.html
2. South Africa announced last month it is paying $5.25 per dose, while the EU will pay $2.16 per dose according to information leaked by a Belgian minister on Twitter. The Ugandan government stated last week that it is paying $7 per dose.
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