AstraZeneca’s adenovirus-based COVID shot Vaxzevria has walked in the shadow of mRNA giants during the pandemic. Now, amid a hunt for small and mid-sized acquisitions to pad its bread-and-butter businesses in cardiovascular disease and cancer, the company is weighing whether to stick with vaccines at all.
The British drugmaker’s vaccine business could be on the way out, CEO Pascal Soriot told Reuters Tuesday. Despite developing one of the first COVID-19 vaccines to win over global regulators, the company’s shot Vaxzevria has suffered on production and delivery delays in Europe, plus fears over rare blood clots.
With those struggles considered, the British pharma is now focused on bolstering its roster of antibodies—including for COVID-19—plus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other viruses, Soriot said in the Reuters interview.
AZ is also looking for "external opportunities,” Soriot told the news service. The drugmaker is eying bolt-on deals, which could include small and mid-sized companies well-versed in the oncology and cardiovascular arenas, he added.
Giving its COVID shot the cold shoulder isn’t exactly a new idea for AstraZeneca’s top brass.
AZ’s biopharma chief Rudd Dobber was already weighing Vaxzevria’s options last July, when he told Reuters, “[i]f you ask me, is the vaccine business a sustainable business for AstraZeneca for the next five or 10 years, that big strategic question is under discussion.”
The uncertain future of vaccine R&D at the company comes after AstraZeneca in November created a new unit responsible for its pandemic treatments, which included vaccines and antibodies.
Late last year, the company was reportedly considering a potential listing of its vaccines and immune therapies division, Bloomberg reported in December, citing people close to the discussions. At the same time, however, AstraZeneca shared a statement with Fierce Pharma that it had “no plans” to list the unit.
Whatever AZ’s direction, Soriot figures he’ll be sticking around to steer the ship for some time.
“I can keep doing this job for many years,” he told Reuters.