BRIEF—AstraZeneca may not apply for US approval of COVID-19 vaccine

UK pharma major AstraZeneca’s head of research and development has told the Financial Times that the UK drug-maker would consider not submitting its COVID-19 vaccine for approval in the USA if it finds it is “banging its head against a brick wall indefinitely” with regulators.

Sir Mene Pangalos said AstraZeneca would instead focus its attention on selling Vaxzevria, the vaccine it developed with Oxford University, in other countries, though it will continue to talk to the Food and Drug Administration, the US regulator.

The White House, however, is still relying on the company to continue supplying its long-acting antibody treatment Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab), for which the FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) in December last year. The US government has contracted to buy more than 1 million doses of the drug combo.