AstraZeneca sets up new division for vaccines and antibody therapies

AstraZeneca is creating a separate division for vaccines and antibody therapies, the drugmaker said on Tuesday, to focus on its Covid-19 shot and the development of coronavirus treatments after a series of setbacks during the pandemic.

In July,  the Anglo-Swedish company started  exploring options  for its vaccine business and expected to have greater clarity on the matter by the end of 2021.

The new division, which will be led by executive vice-president of Europe and Canada, Iskra Reic, will combine research & development, manufacturing, commercial and medical teams, a company spokesperson said.

“The team will be dedicated to our Covid-19 vaccine, our long-acting antibody combination and our developmental vaccine addressing multiple variants of concern, as well as to our existing portfolio for respiratory viral disease,” the spokesperson said.

The decision to set up a new business comes after a tumultuous 18 months for the drugmaker, which developed its Covid-19 vaccine in conjunction with Oxford University.

Production problems forced the company to cut deliveries to the EU in 2021, prompting the bloc to launch a legal challenge. Governments have also restricted its use among certain age groups due to links to rare blood clots and its application for US approval is taking longer than expected.

But positive results from trials of its antibody cocktail as a preventive shot against Covid-19 have given the company a major boost, potentially positioning it as a supplier of both Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.

The creation of the separate vaccines division was first reported by the Financial Times.

The move indicates AstraZeneca sees a future for its Covid-19 shot beyond the pandemic but should not be taken as a sign it is planning a full-scale entry into the broader vaccine market, Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett said.

“That would require significant new research & development investment, and as yet we have no indication that this is forthcoming,” he said.

AstraZeneca has pledged to supply vaccines at cost during the pandemic. The not-for-profit strategy and challenges with the shot fuelled speculation about whether it would want to keep the business in the long term.

While AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine remained a drag on profits in the second quarter, sales of the shot more than tripled to $894m from the first three months of the year, making it one of the company’s best-selling products.

AstraZeneca is due to report third-quarter results on Friday.

Reuters