ASTRAZENECA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SIDE EFFECTS

 Filenews 22 August 2020 -Editing by Nicoletta Kourousi

The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which is developing a coronavirus protection vaccine, has made the "unusual" request to renounce all responsibility and not be held responsible for any side effects, according to a report in the Belgian newspaper Brussels Times.

As it enters the final stages of human trials in the development of the vaccine against the new coronavirus, the pharmaceutical company has made many requests for protection against future liability claims.

As Gabriela Galindo's report states, the request was taken by surprise in Belgium, with health and medical experts in the country describing it as 'unusual' or even 'shocking'.

"In the US, it is common for companies to cover themselves in this way, but in Europe it is unusual," Stefaan Callens, a professor of medical law at KU Leuven University, told HLN.

Thierry Vansweevelt, professor of Medical Law at the University of Antwerp, described this request as "very unusual" and even "slightly shocking", taking into account existing EU regulations on the liability of companies for what they place on the market.

"There is a European directive on product liability," vansweevelt said. 'Any producer who has a defective product on the market is responsible for it, without exceptions. You can't get away from it.'

However, Ruud Dobber, an AstraZeneca executive, told Reuters that most countries with which he had signed supply agreements had already accepted their request, but declined to name those countries.

Dobber also said that AstraZeneca simply "cannot take the risk" of facing any responsibilities if "in four years the vaccine has side effects".

"In the contracts we have entered into, we ask for compensation. For most countries it is acceptable to take this risk on their shoulders because it is in their national interest," he added.

Belgium's federal health minister, Maggie De Block, said that no agreement has been reached so far and that negotiations with the company are continuing.

"We are informed every day," he told HLN. "We do not want this clause, nor do other Member States want it and neither does the European Commission," he said.

Product liability clauses are a central part of negotiations, conducted by the EU and other pharmaceutical companies, according to statements by EU officials obtained by Reuters this week, the report concludes.