AstraZeneca forced to give away 10,000 doses of flu spray

Ready for flu season: tablets, tissues and nasal spray. Keystone / Arno Burgi

The pharma firm has decided to give the disputed doses to Switzerland for free, following a spat with regulators about pricing.

The nasal spray, used to vaccinate children and youths against flu, was the source of tensions between British-Swedish AstraZeneca and the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health (FOPH), it was reported earlier this week.

The Keystone-SDA news agency wrote on Sunday that the FOPH claimed AstraZeneca was asking for remuneration at more than twice the price of comparable products.

Following the pricing disagreements, the company thus decided to simply give up on efforts to put the vaccine on the market and to give the 10,000 doses away, rather than waiting until they expired. They are currently sitting in a warehouse owned by a third-party company in canton Bern.

Astrazeneca says that the vaccines can be ordered free of charge by doctors and medical personnel, on condition that they also pass it on free of charge to patients.

According to the latest estimates by the FOPH, the flu situation in Switzerland is not currently more acute than in previous years. There were fears that this autumn-winter could see a severe flu season after the past few years dominated by Covid-19.

In mid-October the FOPH nevertheless issued a flu vaccination recommendation to all people belonging to a risk category, as well as their family members.