Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, wears a face mask as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 and speaks to a patient participating in a COVID-19 vaccine trial at the Oxford Vaccine Group facility in Oxford, England, June 24, 2020.
Steve Parsons / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline headed in opposite directions on Monday, as the two heavyweight pharmaceuticals were in the limelight for vaccine news.
AstraZeneca AZN,
AZN
It gained 1.6%, at its best levels for the day, as the long-awaited study from the Oxford University vaccine was released.
According to one measure, the study said, neutralizing antibody responses were found in all who received the vaccine, as it also found the vaccine to be safe.
More clinical studies, including in older adults, should be done with this vaccine, according to the article.
GlaxoSmithKline GSK,
GSK
Meanwhile, it weakened 0.2% when the UK drug maker struck a deal worth up to £ 866 million to take a nearly 10% stake in Germany’s CureVac and fund up to five vaccines.
An action listed in AIM, Synairgen SNG,
it jumped 370% after announcing positive results from an inpatient trial with COVID-19. The odds of developing serious illness during the treatment period were significantly reduced by 79% for patients who received their SNG001 compared to patients who received placebo, the company said.
The largest FTSE 100 UKX,
fell 0.5%, the worst performance of the main European indices. Analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove noted that the UK is by far the worst performing index in terms of dollars this year, and in each of the past five years, although they have now upgraded the UK to neutral from underweight.
Analysts say the worst of the consequences of the dividend reduction is over.
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