By Cecilia Butini

AstraZeneca PLC said in a statement on Monday that it would defend itself in court against legal action by the European Commission over its supply of coronavirus vaccines.

The pharmaceutical company said it has fully complied with the advance purchase agreement it had with the executive branch of the European Union, and that it regrets the commission's decision to take legal action against it on the matter.

The European Commission has decided to bring legal proceedings against AstraZeneca as it seeks to ensure vaccine deliveries as part of its contract with the company.

"We are making progress addressing the technical challenges and our output is improving, but the production cycle of a vaccine is very long which means these improvements take time to result in increased finished vaccine doses," AstraZeneca said.

The company said it looks forward to working constructively with the EU to vaccinate as many people as possible, and that it remains firmly committed to delivering its vaccine to Europe and around the world.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2021 09:12 ET (13:12 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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