A box of vials with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is pictured on February 6, 2021 at Foch Hospital in Suresnes at the start of a vaccination campaign for health workers with the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine.
Alain Jocard | AFP | Getty Images
AstraZeneca saw product sales grow 10% for 2020. This year, alongside Oxford University, the drug maker has played a prominent role in developing a coronavirus vaccine.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company reported product sales of 25.8 billion US dollars for 2020. In the fourth quarter, sales rose 12% to just over $ 7 billion. Total revenue was $ 26.6 billion for the year and $ 7.4 billion for the quarter.
The revenue comes as the company continues to be in the limelight of its coronavirus vaccine, which the UK, EU and others rely heavily on to end the public health crisis caused by the pandemic.
However, AstraZeneca has announced that it will not benefit from the vaccine “during the pandemic” and is committed to making it available to low and middle income countries in developing countries on a “permanent” charitable basis.
In the earnings report, Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca said that the performance over the past year “represents a significant step forward for AstraZeneca. Despite the significant impact of the pandemic, we achieved double-digit sales growth.”
“The consistent successes in the pipeline, the accelerated performance of our business and the advancement of the COVID-19 vaccine have shown what we can achieve,” he added.
The vaccine developed with Oxford University was hailed as a game changer along with candidates from other pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and BioNTech, as well as Moderna.
While clinical studies have shown the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine to be less effective than its competitors, the fact that it is cheaper and easier to store and transport has proven to be a boon to countries like the UK where it has been December is introduced. The swift introduction of vaccines is seen as critical to reopening economies that have been badly damaged by lockdowns and job losses.
