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"One mistake after the other." How AstraZeneca went from pandemic hero to villain
From CNN Business' Julia Horowitz in London
After teaming up with Oxford University,
AstraZeneca produced a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine in just nine months, a huge achievement that will help end the
pandemic. But a series of missteps along the way has led to scathing criticism from policymakers and health officials, tarnishing the company's image as a hero of the coronavirus era.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker mistakenly gave some volunteers
a half dose of the vaccine during clinical trials, and it has been
criticized for omitting crucial information from its public statements. US regulators have questioned the accuracy of its vaccine data, and severe production delays in Europe have resulted in a political firestorm and a breakdown in relations with EU leaders.
"What we have with AstraZeneca is a company that is not straightforward, that cannot be relied upon," Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, said in a radio interview with the BBC on Wednesday.
AstraZeneca's (
AZN) failure to deliver tens of millions of promised doses to the European Union, which is struggling to roll out vaccination programs, led the bloc to impose export restrictions that have already
prevented at least one shipment of vaccines to Australia. Leaders could move to make the restrictions
even tighter Thursday.
Meanwhile, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases expressed concerns earlier this week that AstraZeneca had presented "outdated" data from a
trial of the vaccine's effectiveness. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the agency's director, called it "an unforced error" that could erode trust in a "very good vaccine."
AstraZeneca updated its data on Thursday, reporting that the trials showed its vaccine
to be 76% effective in preventing Covid-19 symptoms. Earlier this week, it had said its shot was
79% effective. The rare rebuke from US regulators was a major blow to the company's credibility.
"They've made one mistake after the other," said Jeffrey Lazarus, head of the health systems research group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.
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