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First human trial of Oxford coronavirus vaccine shows promise

Published 20/07/2020, 14:49
Updated 20/07/2020, 18:05
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The company logo for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The company logo for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is displayed on a screen on the floor at the NYSE in New York

By Alistair Smout

LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University against the new coronavirus produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the year.

The vaccine, called AZD1222, has been described by the World Health Organization's chief scientist as the leading candidate in a global race to halt a pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 people.

More than 150 possible vaccines are in various stages of development, and U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and China's CanSino Biologics also reported positive responses for their candidates on Monday.

The vaccine from AstraZeneca and Britain's University of Oxford prompted no serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal, with the strongest response seen in people who received two doses.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government has helped fund the project, hailed the results as "very positive news" though the researchers cautioned the project was still at an early stage.

"There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the COVID-19 pandemic," vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert said. "We still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection."

AstraZeneca shares surged 10%, but then gave up most of those gains, to close up 1.45% on the day.

AstraZeneca has signed agreements with governments around the world to supply the vaccine should it prove effective and gain regulatory approval. It has said it will not seek to profit from the vaccine during the pandemic.

AZD1222 was developed by Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca, which has put it into large-scale, late-stage trials to test its efficacy. It has signed deals to produce and supply over 2 billion doses of the shot, with 300 million doses earmarked for the United States.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive of AstraZeneca, said the company was on track to be producing doses by September, but that hopes that it will be available this year hinged on how quickly late-stage trials could be completed, given the dwindling prevalence of the virus in Britain.

Late-stage trials are under way in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the United States, where prevalence is higher.

TARGETING TWO DOSES

The trial results showed a stronger immune response in 10 people given an extra dose of the vaccine after 28 days, echoing a trial in pigs.

Oxford's Gilbert said the early-stage trial could not determine whether one or two doses would be needed to provide immunity.

"It may be that we don't need two doses, but we want to know what we can achieve," she told reporters.

AstraZeneca's biopharma chief, Mene Pangalos, said the firm was leaning towards a two-dose strategy for later-stage trials, and did not want to risk a single or lower dose that might not work.

The antibody levels generated were "in the region" of those seen in convalescent patients, he said.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labelled with

The trial included 1,077 healthy adults aged 18-55 years with no history of COVID-19. Researchers said the vaccine caused minor side effects more frequently than a control group, but some of these could be reduced by taking the painkiller paracetamol, which is also known as acetaminophen.

Latest comments

Big pharma actually threw a huge party the day Xi announced the virus on state media. The board members ordered a dozen boxes of the best champagne for the festivities.
if any human being takes any vaccine you will like cut your life into half and guy's these people are not from the government an yes some of them are ..some of them are actually an organisation...
crab.....same old story
How naive - UK always selfpraising - does that not sound a bit psycho - allow others verify then acknowledge- it‘s so off listening - 😩
Yeh like china allowed the world to verify the outbreak and do an investigation 🤣🤣
I can't help but think there's a lot of spin going on with all these COVID-19 vaccines. I suspect that pretty much none are anywhere near tested properly or as affective as they would have you believe. I think one only has to look at how long they have been working on many other diseases, decades in some cases with ZERO results. I personally would not entertain any vaccine that has not been properly tested of which none of these have, but mostly because they are likely to do you more damage than good in the long road. I avoid medication simply because the body is a complex machine designed to deal with viruses, infections and the likes, medication for me takes over your immune system, weakening it and rendering it useless when it's actually needed.
Plus the fact the last stage takes about ten years to prove its efficacy.
Of course. Go back yo the dark ages and jump around a fire while praying to your god.
no it doesn’t😂we get a different flu vaccine every year , each one isn’t decades in the making. You’re arguments are baseless rubbish😂😂
yes i have been chatting up this girl recently, looks like she may agree to go for a drink with me so potentially perhaps maybe might marry me. it's pish, pish I tells ya!
It will be null and void once the virus has mutated just like the flue vaccine. That errm gets rid if the flu
By the time it’s mutated to the point where the vaccine isn’t effective many countries would have decimated the virus, thanks tk the vaccine. Pointless post from you.
that's why the Chinese wants to steal all our science then is it.. nonsense as usual from the resident CCP shill
just want to show off they are the 1st to produce vaccine. Very high risk
They’re releasing results, you lot know nothing 😂
People do some proper research about it on not goverment funded places.This is not to make things better but actually to make things worse for you! You don't need any vaccination they just making you to think you need one but believe me you don't! Your immune system is much stronger than Vaccine and actually the Vaccine will make your immune system even weaker which is most important thing not to do!
why is the stock dropping? people dump it too early. what the heck..
that's really good news
expect to not be forced to be vacinated in that no special viarus
Expected, hopefully the progress continues.
thanks for vaccine
🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Do you know what its really for?? Do some research! And not on Government funded sites and news places..!
Good news, lets hit north.
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