thirdcrank wrote:A piece in the business section of the Daily T suggests that AZ may be regretting the decision to do their vaccine on a not-for-profit basis. They have suffered reputational damage from the bad-mouthing and the share price has taken a hit.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/20 ... ble-worth/
They'll get the profit back when their current contract with EU if fulfilled and EU ask for more and are given a price per dose with several zeros added where it "hurts". Sometimes regarded as "winning the battle and losing the war".
In my opinion some (few) politicians in the EU are being silly to try and distract from their prior failings (particularly highlighted by the UK's success). Politically it may or may not work. I've always found that to get things done you have to work with your suppliers and customers. Only once did we end-up ending a meeting with "we seem to need to move to get our lawyers talking to each other ..." at which point the project manager for the other party was quickly replaced and things then progressing in a positive manner.
If the EU politicians believe AZ are in breach of their contract then they should be taking them to court. If AZ are not in breach of their contract the EU politicians need to shut-up and admit their failings.
But it is a few EU politicians NOT "the EU". And as I understand it any EU country could still have approved the vaccine far earlier themselves, any individual EU country could have placed their own orders for the vaccine or invested in vaccine production facilities. They put their faith in a few EU politicians who let them down. (Just as the UK has been repeated let down by our politicians during the pandemic). So no "EU good/bad vs UK good/bad - just politicians messing up on both sides.
Ian