A drop of water compared to its rival Pfizer.

In the first half of 2021, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca sold $ 1.17 billion worth of coronavirus vaccines.

This sum corresponds to the delivery of around 319 million doses worldwide - including 97 million to the European Union, the Anglo-Swedish laboratory said Thursday in a press release.

But the revenues of AstraZeneca, which sells its serum at cost price, are nothing compared to those of the Pfizer laboratory in partnership with the German BioNTech, which plans to sell $ 33.5 billion in coronavirus vaccines in 2021 in the world.

Doubts and delays about the vaccine

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 serum, a laboratory that had not been used much in vaccines until now, was one of the very first on the market along with that of Pfizer.

AstraZeneca has even overtaken the British giant GSK in the race for serums against the coronavirus.

The latter is only counting on the end of the year for its own vaccine, weighed down by delays and developed in partnership with the French Sanofi.

The launch of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been followed by many problems for the group, including doubts about its effectiveness and concerns after several blood clots, however very rare in view of the millions of doses administered.

To this was added a dispute with Brussels over deliveries.

AstraZeneca also intends to seek approval for its vaccine in the United States during the second half of the year, he said in his press release, behind schedule initially planned.

Optimistic for 2021

In total, AstraZeneca's first-half sales grew by around 20% to $ 15.5 billion and net profit by around 40% to $ 2.1 billion, including solid growth in new drugs. . With progress in its portfolio of developing products and the acquisition of the American biotech Alexion, specializing in rare diseases, the group expects revenues to increase by 20 to 23% for 2021.

"AstraZeneca generated a new period of strong growth thanks to a solid performance in all regions and in all pathologies", particularly in oncology, said CEO Pascal Soriot.

However, the group recognizes "still significant risks and uncertainties related to the impact of Covid-19, including the potential impact of new drugs against the virus currently in clinical development", he adds.

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