By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) shares were up 2% in Monday’s premarket trading after data from a large trial in the U.S. and elsewhere showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be safe and effective.
The trial was also conducted in Chile and Peru. The trials showed the vaccine was 79% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19, and produced no evidence that the drug led to blood-clotting disorders, an idea that led to its suspension in the European Union briefly earlier this month. The results could bolster confidence in the product after initial confusion over its efficacy data, dosing regimen and possible side-effects.
The EU has fallen way behind the U.K. and the U.S. in vaccine rollout, resulting in faster spread of the virus again.
While the bloc grapples with the fresh surge, it is also considering a ban on export of the vaccines, having failed to secure priority delivery in contract negotiations with the company last year. The EU has so far blocked one shipment of vaccines to Australia and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen threatened - indirectly - to suspend exports to the U.K. last week.
AstraZeneca has struggled to deliver contractually agreed volumes to its customers in recent weeks, due in part to problems ramping up its Halix plant in the Netherlands. The company said on Monday it's 'well on track' to get approval from the European Medicines Agency to launch the plant by late March or early April.