AstraZeneca’s results in 2020 soared in such a way that the British pharmaceutical company obtained a net profit of 3,144 million dollars (2,592 million euros), 159% more than the previous year, as reported by the company this Thursday to the Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange. This accolade is produced as a result of the sales of its vaccine against covid-19, designed jointly with the University of Oxford, and which have allowed it to reach total revenues that reached 26,617 million dollars (21,945 million euros in 2020). which represents an increase of 9.1% compared to those registered in 2019.
In addition to the launch of new drugs related to the coronavirus, those dedicated to other pathologies such as asthma have also served to skyrocket sales balances. The successful results, the pharmaceutical company points out, have occurred despite the fall in the distribution of medicines for cancer treatments, which were postponed to give priority to those dedicated to the fight against the virus.
The pharmaceutical group also saw an increase in its expenses, particularly those related to logistics. “The successes of our drugs in development, the acceleration of our company’s performance, and the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine show what we can achieve,” said Pascal Soriot, CEO of the firm. Soriot has also referred to the acquisition of the American biotechnology company Alexion for 39,000 million dollars: “It aims to accelerate our commercial and scientific development,” he assured.
Regarding its forecasts for 2021, AstraZeneca predicts an increase in its sales of between 1 and 4%, although it clarifies that to establish this calculation it leaves aside the sales of the vaccine against covid-19, for which it will publish results separated next quarter. The group recalls that it received emergency authorization in December to begin distributing its vaccine in the United Kingdom, followed by India, Argentina, Mexico, and Morocco. Along with these, he also announced that he has started phase 3 trials for a drug based on antibodies against the virus
AstraZeneca promised access to 170 million doses of the vaccine for 190 countries, but its delay in production has caused discomfort in the European Union, which gave 870 million euros to the British pharmaceutical company both in financing the vaccine and in the purchase of doses. The community executive denounced that the company has not met the established deadlines.
As a counterpart to this reprimand from the European Commission, which published (albeit with quite a few taps) the contract between both parties to demand compliance, AstraZeneca has received a push from the World Health Organization (WHO), which has recommended the use of its vaccine without age restrictions, against the will of several countries (including Spain) not to use it in older age groups because there are no conclusive results for patients of these ages.
