AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are not expected to get their Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine contracts renewed by the European Union Commission.
The bloc is planning to focus on mRNA-based vaccines, such as those produced by Pfizer and Moderna, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported.
READ: Johnson & Johnson delays COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Europe as US authorities investigate blood clots
The AstraZeneca and J&J jabs are produced with the traditional DNA-based method, where the body is exposed to the inactivated virus to trigger the production of antibodies once the disease is contracted.
mRNA technology, instead, instructs a patient’s own cells to produce proteins that could prevent, treat or cure disease.
The UK has advised not to administer the AstraZeneca inoculation to people under 30 after cases of blood clots.
JNJ’s formulation is being investigated after the same occurred in the US.
The Italian medicines agency told Il Corriere della Sera newspaper on Wednesday that it is considering using the US jab only for people over 60.
“We’ll see what its best use will be. We could discuss the possibility of reserving these (J&J) doses to people over the age of 60 since (blood clot) cases are again concentrated under the age of 50,” AIFA director Nicola Magrini said.
Shares in AstraZeneca rose 1% to 7,220p on Wednesday morning, while JNJ was flat at US$158.89 in premarket trading.