AstraZeneca profits double as vaccine maker adapts jab to cope with new virus strains

AstraZeneca has revealed its annual profits have more than doubled - and that it is putting all its efforts into adapting the Covid vaccine to cope with new strains of the disease.

The group, which developed the vaccine with Oxford University, on Thursday reported pre-tax profits of $3.92bn - around £2.83bn for 2020.

The firm, which employs 6,500 employees across five UK sites, is also working on cutting the time needed to reach production at scale of the vaccine to between six and nine months, as PA reports.

The haul for the firm, whose sites are spread across Cheshire, Cambridge and Bedfordshire, marks a significant rise on the $1.55bn or £1.12bn profits seen in 2019, despite offering its coronavirus jab on a not-for-profit basis.

But the vaccine helped boost revenues over the year, contributing $2m - £1.44m - to total turnover of $26.6bn - £19.21bn - a rise of 10%.

Operating profits surged to $5.16bn - £3.73bn - up 81% with currency effects stripped out, as the firm hailed the success of fast-growing new medicines.

AstraZeneca said it expects to deliver revenue growth in the "low-teens" over 2021, though it stressed the guidance does not include any sales or profit impact from the coronavirus jab or its planned takeover of US group Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

With regard to the vaccine, it said that, together with Oxford University, it is "focused on adapting C19VAZ to new disease strains if required and hopes to reduce the time needed to reach production at scale to between six to nine months, by utilising existing clinical data and optimising its established supply chain".