AstraZeneca: Vulnerable let down by Covid drugs snub

THE boss of AstraZeneca has blasted the Government’s decision not to order any doses of its evusheld Covid treatment.

The comments by chief executive pascal Soriot came as the pharma giant reported a 60pc jump in revenues in the first quarter of the year, boosted by sales of its blockbuster cancer drugs and contracts for its Covid vaccine.

The 62-year-old Frenchman said the UK had yet to order any evusheld despite regulators approving it in March. He said: ‘The UK is one of the rare countries in the world...that has not ordered evusheld. it is a sad situation quite frankly.’

He added: ‘people who are immuno-compromised are really suffering from the Covid crisis. What is good news for most of us is that we can go out and meet people is really bad news for people who are immuno-compromised because it means they have to protect themselves even more. The threat to them is even higher.’

Developed by Astra and the University of oxford, evusheld is designed to protect those patients with weak or compromised immunity who may be unable to have vaccines.

Doctors hoped it would be a lifeline to 500,000 Britons with severely impaired immune systems – many of them still shielding. it is estimated to cost £800 per dose. The US has officially ordered 1.7m doses.

Astra posted revenues of £9bn for the first quarter of 2022, a rise of 60pc year-on-year and ahead of market forecasts.

The number was boosted by a 25pc jump in sales of cancer drugs while its Covid treatments, which include evusheld, raked in £1.4bn.

profits dropped 56pc to £441m as it was hit with costs from its £31bn merger with US rare disease specialist Alexion pharma.

The firm also unveiled plans to open a new site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to bring together 1,500 Astra and Alexion employees when it is completed in 2026. The shares rose 1.2pc, or 126p, to 10,688p.