(Adds executive comments, details on settlement)
Sept 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission and AstraZeneca
said on Friday they had reached a settlement on
delivering remaining COVID-19 vaccine doses by the British
drugmaker and also ended pending litigation in Brussels https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_4561.
The settlement clears a major overhang for AstraZeneca,
whose cheap and easily transportable vaccine has faced several
setbacks, including the lawsuit and worries about possible
side-effects. It also allows the European Union to speed up
inoculations amid shortages.
Under the settlement https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/astrazeneca-and-european-commission-reach-settlement-agreement-over-vaccine-supply-ending-litigation.html,
AstraZeneca has committed to deliver 60 million doses of its
vaccine, Vaxzevria, by the end of the third quarter this year,
75 million by the end of the fourth quarter and 65 million by
the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The European Commission launched legal action against
AstraZeneca in April https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-sues-astrazeneca-over-delayed-deliveries-covid-19-vaccine-2021-04-26
for not respecting its contract for the supply of COVID-19
vaccines and for not having a "reliable" plan to ensure timely
deliveries.
The EU's executive body said that under the new agreement,
member states will be provided with regular delivery schedules
and if there are any delayed doses, capped rebates would be
applied.
"There are significant differences in vaccination rates
between our member states, and the continued availability of
vaccines, including AstraZeneca's, remain crucial," said EU
Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
