AstraZeneca’s vaccine data flap is unlikely to cost the company much, at least in the short term. Wall Street should be paying close attention anyway.
American officials said they were told that AstraZeneca may have released outdated information about test results for its Covid-19 vaccine – a surprise revelation that immediately cast doubt on the company’s claim the day before the results showed the injection was highly effective. AstraZeneca said in response that it would share a new analysis of the data within 48 hours.
This situation is quite unusual, but investors may find reasons not to worry: it will not affect the company’s finances in the short term. The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been widely used in places like the UK, and Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that the vaccine is probably still safe and effective. Vaccine sales are not included in the company’s financial guidelines for the entire year.
These reasons make some sense, but, in the final analysis, they are short-sighted. Reliable data is the backbone of the pharmaceutical business; clinicians, regulators and the general public must be able to trust that clinical results are valid for selling, approving or taking drugs. Concerns about data integrity are rare, even for small biotechnology companies. In the modern era, any problems on this front around a giant like AstraZeneca are unthinkable and especially worrying during a global pandemic.
Doubts about integrity are difficult to remove after sowing. And a good working relationship with U.S. drug regulators is essential even for foreign companies, as this is by far the most profitable market in the world for pharmaceutical products. A slower drug approval process – almost a given for AstraZeneca in the future – makes it more difficult to compete with rivals that develop other drugs.