AstraZeneca Ordered to Deliver Vaccine Doses to EU Amid Lawsuit -- Update
18 Juni 2021 - 4:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Cecilia Butini and Ian Walker
The European Commission said Friday that the Court of First
Instance in Brussels has ordered AstraZeneca PLC to urgently
deliver Covid-19 vaccine doses to member states, deciding on
interim measures for the company amid a lawsuit brought against it
by the commission and the 27 EU member states.
The court has ordered AstraZeneca to deliver 50 million vaccine
doses by Sept. 27, adding to 30.2 million that the company said it
has delivered in the first quarter of the year.
In the event of non-compliance with the deadline, the company
will have to pay a penalty of 10 euros ($11.91) per non-delivered
vaccine dose, the Commission said, reporting the court's
decision.
The European Commission had originally requested 120 million
vaccine doses cumulatively by the end of June, and a total of 300
million doses by the end of September. It decided on April 26 to
bring legal proceedings against the company on behalf of EU member
states as it sought to ensure vaccine deliveries to the bloc.
AstraZeneca said that it welcomed the court's decision on
Friday, adding that it has supplied more than 70 million doses of
the vaccine to the EU and expects to "substantially exceed" the
required amount by the end of June.
The Commission said that the judge's decision on the interim
measures--which means that the case is still open--is based on the
fact that the company committed a serious breach of its contractual
obligations with the EU.
AstraZeneca's general counsel Jeffrey Pott said the company has
fully complied with its agreement with the European Commission.
Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com and Ian Walker
at ian.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2021 10:01 ET (14:01 GMT)
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