Is AZN dead-money?Collected notes from FinTwit:
AstraZeneca PLC has built a formidable supply chain behind its bid to join the front-runners racing to deliver a Covid-19 shot. The British drugmaker has assembled a network of manufacturing and distribution partners spanning the globe, the WSJ’s Joseph Walker and Jenny Strasburg write, while striking deals with governments that have sought to lock in vaccine supplies. The efforts reflect the broader actions pharmaceutical companies, logistics operators and transport carriers have been undertaking to ensure vaccines are delivered to as many people as possible. AstraZeneca is in an unusual position because it has the least vaccine experience among major suppliers but has promised the world more than three billion doses. The company plans to roll out hundreds of millions of doses in the first quarter and ramp up production afterward, pending regulators’ approval. That positions AstraZeneca as the likely dominant supplier to the developing world and poor, hard-to-reach populations. On the positive side, the AZN vaccine can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures and is less expensive than those developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
Meanwhile, the company continues to benefit from its deep pipeline of oncology and cardiovascular products.
