The Vaxzevria vaccine uses an adenovirus vector. Image courtesy of AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and the European Union have agreed to end litigation related to the supply of its COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S).
AstraZeneca had initially contracted with the European Commission to provide 300 million doses of its vaccine with an option for another 100 million, but fell short of its commitment.
The level of vaccine doses, however, ultimately trailed initial expectations, leading to tensions between AstraZeneca and the E.U. AstraZeneca vowed to provide an additional 9 million doses in February to diffuse the tensions.
The E.U., however, pursued legal action in April. In the recent settlement, AstraZeneca agreed to provide the E.U. with 300 million doses by the end of March 2022. That sum includes 75 million doses by the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, the company will provide another 65 million in the first quarter of 2022.
In related news, researchers at AstraZeneca and collaborators at the University of Oxford have begun working on a therapeutic cancer vaccine based on a chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1) platform, which Vaxzevria also uses. The investigational cancer vaccine also includes modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) encoding MAGE-type antigens. Preclinical data has been positive.
The researchers published a study summarizing their research in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.
Human clinical trials for the cancer vaccine are slated to begin later this year.