London, United Kingdom:
EU legal action taken against AstraZeneca more than shortfalls in its delivery of Covid vaccines is “without merit”, the drugs giant mentioned Monday.
“We believe any litigation is without merit and we welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as soon as possible,” the organization mentioned in a statement following the European Commission launched proceedings.
AstraZeneca mentioned it had “fully complied with the Advance Purchase Agreement with the European Commission”.
It added that in line with AstraZeneca’s forecast, the organization is set to provide practically 50 million doses to European nations by the finish of April.
“AstraZeneca regrets the European Commission’s decision to take legal action over the supply of Covid-19 vaccines,” the statement mentioned.
“We look forward to working constructively with the EU Commission to vaccinate as many people as possible.”
The EU executive and AstraZeneca have been at loggerheads as the British-Swedish company’s alleged shortfall of deliveries to the bloc hobbled the early efforts to roll out jabs.
The commission — which has been accountable for procuring vaccines for all of the bloc — informed member states last week of its plans to take the organization to court and pressed for help from national governments.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman mentioned he was unaware of the specifics about the legal action.
“What I will say is that AstraZeneca has been a hugely strong partner for the UK and in fact, globally, for the work they’re doing,” he told reporters.
“They’ve been a vital part of our vaccine rollout programme, and we continue to look forward to working with them.”
(This story has not been edited by TheSpuzz employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)