Imee questions sale of AstraZeneca vaccine at twice the EU price

Senator Imee Marcos on Monday sought an explanation from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on why the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University would be sold to the Philippine government at more than double the rate in Europe.

Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, said in a statement that the IATF is expected to ink an agreement with AstraZeneca for the procurement of 30 million doses of its vaccine at $5 or about P240 per dose once the UK health ministry authorizes its use.

She pointed out that Belgium’s Budget Secretary Eva De Bleeker had publicly disclosed that member states of the European Union will be buying the AstraZeneca vaccine for only €1.78 or about P105 per dose.

The senator also said AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot and its research partner Oxford University previously committed to provide the vaccine on a "non-profit" basis, and "in perpetuity to low- and middle-income countries."

“The purchase price doesn’t match the promise sold,” Marcos said. “Why has the government agreed to be shortchanged?"

She said buying 30 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at $5 each would cost P7.2 billion and would cover only 15 million Filipinos.

“With two doses required, 15 million Filipinos can be vaccinated at the same cost that can cover about 34.5 million Europeans," Marcos said.

She added that the US will be buying the said vaccine at only $4 per dose.

“The pricing issue must be addressed by the IATF, lest the government be suspected of profiteering amid tight funding for vaccines,” the senator said.

AstraZeneca withdrew its application to conduct clinical trials in the Philippines as it had sufficient data to see the efficacy of its vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration said earlier this month.

Nonetheless, the pharmaceutical firm may still supply vaccines in the Philippines once it secures the approval of the FDA.

The private sector in the Philippines already secured 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine in November through a tripartite agreement with the Philippine government and the firm.

This procurement from AstraZeneca will be followed by another purchase by the Philippine government, according to Dr. Jaime Montoya of the Department of Science and Technology's Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. — DVM, GMA News