London-listed drugs giant AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) warned it will take a write-down of US$80mln and see US$206mln of sales disappear after US authorities recommended child flu vaccine FluMist Quadrivalent should not be used.
An interim recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated the vaccine did not show any statistically significantly effectiveness in children last year and should not be used in the 2016-2017 immunisation season.
Astra said its findings differed from those of the US CDC and it is working with the agency to reconcile the numbers so that the vaccine can be used again in the future.
US sales of FluMist Quadrivalent in 2015 amounted to $206mln, but Astra said after the CDC recommendation it expects little demand this year.
As a result, Astra will take an inventory write-down of approximately $80mln in the second quarter of 2016.