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According to information from New York TimesCiting a person familiar with the situation, one of the participants in the clinical trials of the experimental vaccine in Britain was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome of the spinal cord often caused by viral infections. Does not have cleared up if the onset of the disease is associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
According to Stat News, the patient is expected to recover.
The vaccine has been characterized by World Health Organization as the most promising candidate vaccine for Covid-19 and the most advanced in the development process.
AstraZeneca, however, today announced the cessation of clinical trials, which include final stage tests, to allow an independent scientific committee evaluation of the safety conditions, after the infection of one of the participants in the tests by a disease whose nature was not announced.
According to the BBC, the MHRA medical regulatory authority will make the final decision on resuming clinical trials within a few days.
“This is a routine procedure followed when potentially unexplained illness occurs in one of the tests,” AstraZeneca said in a statement announcing the discontinuation of the tests.
The AZD1222 experimental vaccine is in the final stages of clinical trials in United States, Brazil and South Africa, while additional tests are planned in Japan and Russia.
The tests will include a total 50,000 participants Worldwide.
South Korea has said it will consider closing the trials and reviewing its plan to participate in vaccine production.
However, a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Health said that “it is not uncommon for clinical trials to stop when there is an interaction of factors.”
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, which funds AstraZeneca’s testing program, declined to comment on the development.
The American company Moderna, one of the pioneers in the vaccine race, announced that there is no impact on its own vaccine study for Covid-19.
AstraZeneca stock drop
Meanwhile, following the announcement of the cessation of clinical trials of the experimental vaccine AZD1222 by the British pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca’s share of the London Stock Exchange fell by 2% and the share of the Indian subsidiary of AstraZeneca Pharma Ltd. fell by 12 %.
Historical commitment
Nine major European and US pharmaceutical companies have committed to meeting safety and efficacy requirements in the development of their experimental vaccines, despite the urgent need to address the pandemic.
The companies, which include AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer, issued a “landmark commitment” following concerns about safety cuts due to strong political pressure to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
The other companies signing the engagement announcement are Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax Inc, Sanofi and BioNTech.
