a8921p
FORM 6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of June
2020
Commission
File Number: 001-11960
AstraZeneca PLC
1
Francis Crick Avenue
Cambridge
Biomedical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AA
United
Kingdom
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AstraZeneca PLC
INDEX
TO EXHIBITS
1.
AstraZeneca to supply Europe with up to 400 million
doses of Oxford University's vaccine at no
profit
13 June 2020 14:00 BST
AstraZeneca to supply Europe with up to 400 million
doses of Oxford University's vaccine at no profit
Company exploring further additional global
capacity to provide broad and equitable access
AstraZeneca has reached an agreement with Europe's Inclusive
Vaccines Alliance (IVA), spearheaded by Germany, France, Italy
and the Netherlands, to supply up to 400 million doses of the
University of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine, with deliveries starting
by the end of 2020.
With today's agreement, the IVA aims to accelerate the supply of
the vaccine and to make it available to other European countries
that wish to participate in the initiative. The IVA is committed to
providing equitable access to all participating countries across
Europe.
AstraZeneca continues to build a number of supply chains in
parallel across the world, including for Europe. The Company is
seeking to expand manufacturing capacity further and is open to
collaborating with other companies in order to meet its commitment
to support access to the vaccine at no profit during the
pandemic.
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, said: "This agreement will
ensure that hundreds of millions of Europeans have access to Oxford
University's vaccine following approval. With our European supply
chain due to begin production soon, we hope to make the vaccine
available widely and rapidly. I would like to thank the governments
of Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands for their commitment
and swift response."
The Company has recently completed similar agreements with the UK,
US, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi
the Vaccine Alliance for 700 million doses, and it agreed a licence
with the Serum Institute of India for the supply of an additional
one billion doses, principally for low- and middle-income
countries. Total manufacturing capacity currently stands
at two billion doses.
Oxford University last month announced the start of a Phase II/III
UK trial of AZD1222 in about 10,000 adult volunteers. Other
late-stage trials are due to begin in a number of
countries. AstraZeneca recognises that the vaccine may not
work but is committed to progressing the clinical programme with
speed and scaling up manufacturing at risk.
The Company's comprehensive pandemic response also includes rapid
mobilisation of AstraZeneca's global research efforts to discover
novel coronavirus-neutralising antibodies to prevent and treat
progression of the COVID-19 disease, with the aim of reaching
clinical trials in the next three to five months. Additionally, the
Company has quickly moved into testing of new and existing
medicines to treat the infection, including
the CALAVI trials
underway for Calquence (acalabrutinib) and
the DARE-19 trial
for Farxiga (dapagliflozin) in COVID-19
patients.
Financial Considerations
Today's announcement is not anticipated to have any significant
impact on the Company's financial guidance for 2020; costs to
manufacture the vaccine are anticipated to be offset by funding by
governments.
AZD1222
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, now known as AZD1222, was developed by Oxford
University's Jenner Institute, working with the Oxford Vaccine
Group. It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector
based on a weakened version of a common cold (adenovirus) virus
that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic
material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. After vaccination, the
surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system
to attack COVID-19 if it later infects the body.
The recombinant adenovirus vector (ChAdOx1) was chosen to generate
a strong immune response from a single dose and it is not
replicating, so cannot cause an ongoing infection in the vaccinated
individual. Vaccines made from the ChAdOx1 virus have been given to
more than 320 people to date and have been shown to be well
tolerated, although they can cause temporary side effects such as a
temperature, influenza-like symptoms, headache or a sore
arm.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) is a global, science-led
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery,
development and commercialisation of prescription medicines,
primarily for the treatment of diseases in three therapy areas -
Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory
& Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in
over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by
millions of patients worldwide. Please
visit astrazeneca.com and
follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.
Contacts
For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please
click here.
For Media contacts, click here.
Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
15 June
2020
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By: /s/
Adrian Kemp
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Name:
Adrian Kemp
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Title:
Company Secretary
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