Maker admits blood clots

AstraZeneca: Condition rare

AstraZeneca has acknowledged that its Covid-19 vaccine could cause a rare and potentially deadly blood-clotting condition, according to court documents.

The British pharmaceutical giant is facing a class action from dozens of families of those injured or killed as a result of the jab, which was also given in Australia.

So far, 51 cases have been filed in London’s High Court, estimated to be worth about $190m, according to Britain’s The Telegraph.

But in a twist, AstraZeneca struck a deal with the British government at the height of the pandemic that gives it indemnity from potential lawthe suits, meaning taxpayers will have to foot the bill of any payouts.

The company, which is fighting the claims, acknowledged in a February legal document that its vaccine can “in very rare cases” cause a condition called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, the outlet reports.

TTS occurs when a person has blood clots (thrombosis) together with a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). It’s also referred to as “vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia” (VITT).

TTS has been listed as a potential side effect of the vaccine but AstraZeneca’s admission in February is the first time the company has admitted it in court, according to The Telegraph.

In a statement, AstraZeneca defended the positives of the vaccine, saying complications were rare.

“Patient safety is our highest priority, and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines,” the company said in a statement.

“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”

AstraZeneca last Thursday said net profit jumped 21 per cent in the first three months of the year thanks to strong growth in sales of cancer drugs.

Profit after tax climbed more than one fifth compared with the first quarter last year to $2.18bn, AstraZeneca said in a results statement.

“AstraZeneca had a very strong start in 2024,” chief executive Pascal Soriot said in statement, which noted a 26 per cent increase in revenue from oncology treatments.

Total group sales increased 19 per cent to $12.7bn in the first quarter.

“Our strong pipeline momentum continued and already this year we announced positive trial results for Imfinzi and Tagrisso that were unprecedented in lung cancer,” added Soriot.

AstraZeneca’s share price jumped 5.7 per cent to £120 following the update.

AstraZeneca’s latest push into oncology comes after its net profit almost doubled to $6bn last year as a strong cancer division helped offset a wipe-out for sales of its Covid treatments.