Verinurad

Having sent 1.5 billion Covid-19 vaccines around the world on a not-for-profit basis, AstraZeneca says it’s time to move into “modest profitability.” While the priority is to deliver all the “pandemic doses” — a total of 3 billion are set to be delivered by the end of the year — AstraZeneca expects to be taking new orders in Q4, leading to a blend in sales. “Don’t expect massive profitability, which is sometimes the case for other vaccine makers,” Ruud Dobber, head of the biopharmaceuticals business unit, told Endpoints News . Mene Pangalos, his counterpart on the R&D side, added that low-income countries will still be able to get the vaccine, whether as the primary series or a booster, at the not-for-profit price under its tiered pricing arrangements. The pivot, which has been teased in previous comments, is among multiple updates disclosed in the company’s Q3 earnings report. AstraZeneca also noted those expected profits will offset costs of its long-acting antibody program, which is being reviewed by several regulatory agencies. Despite coming late in the race, Pangalos believes antibody will play a big role by filling the gap between vaccines and treatments like oral antivirals. “Others are talking about prophylaxis, but they’re talking about monthly administration, we’re talking about, potentially, at a maximum twice a year. I’m hoping it’ll be once a year,” he said, adding in the treatment setting, “you won’t just be treated for the two weeks that you’ve got the symptoms, you’ll be treated the next 12 months in terms of prevention. I know what I would take.” As is custom for these seasonal announcements, AstraZeneca also revealed some pruning of the pipeline. The team is dropping two Phase II combo trials anchored by its PD-L1 Imfinzi: One had tested Imfinzi together with MEDI0457, a DNA HPV vaccine, in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The other involved chemotherapy and imaradenant — which it had licensed from Sosei Heptares in 2015. Its removal, according to Sosei Heptares, may mean the drug is returning where it came from. Finally, out goes verinurad, the URAT1 inhibitor that was being tested for chronic kidney disease and heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction, which Pangalos said just didn’t look as good as everything else in the pipeline. “Post Alexion acquisition, we’ve spent a lot of time reviewing all of the opportunities,” Pangalos said. “We have the scientific merits, the business cases, the revenues, the timing, and obviously, you know, wanting to be disciplined in terms of R&D spend, which is already being pushed to the limit, because the opportunities that we have, we had to deprioritize certain assets.” Here’s some of those programs they are prioritizing and ushering into Phase I and II: