The Covid-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has produced a “winning formula” of efficacy, the company’s chief executive said Sunday.
The vaccine, which is currently under evaluation by Britain’s independent drug regulator, provides “100 percent protection” against severe Covid disease that requires hospitalization, Pascal Soriot said in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper.
He added that he believes the trials will show that his company has achieved vaccine efficacy equal to that of Pfizer-BioNTech by 95 percent and Moderna by 94.5 percent.
“We think we’ve figured out the winning formula and how to get an efficacy that, after two doses, is on par with all the others,” said the CEO, but said only that the data would be released “at some point.”
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had submitted their data to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval is expected to be granted on Monday to launch the jab, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus vaccine licensed for use by the UK’s independent drug regulator and has been administered to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people since last month.
Previous trials have shown variable results in the efficacy of AstraZeneca injection. Initially, the vaccine showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent, but that level jumped to 90 percent depending on the dose.
– ‘Storm’ over data –
Behind this average number of large-scale trials in the UK and Brazil was found to be 62 percent effective for those who were vaccinated with two full doses of the injection.
However, for volunteers who received a half dose first and then a full dose a month later, the vaccine was found to be 90 percent effective.
Soriot said he was “surprised” by the initial findings. “We would have preferred a simpler result set,” he added.
The lack of clarity and transparency about the discrepancy in the results was widely criticized. Soriot said he didn’t expect the setback that followed.
“We assume people would be a little disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said. “But we weren’t expecting that storm.”
High hopes have been pinned on the AstraZeneca injection, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
The AstraZeneca vaccine also enjoys a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions of between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months.
That’s a far cry from the -70 ° C needed for the Pfizer / BioNTech offering and could allow the use of the existing refrigerated supply chain to cut costs.
– ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ –
In a vote of confidence for its homegrown vaccine, the vaccine is expected to meet most of Britain’s requirements.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses scheduled to be available at the end of March.
UK officials will hope that trust will be rewarded, especially as the country has been one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic with more than 70,000 deaths.
An increase in cases has affected the entire country over the past week, especially in south-east England and attributed to a new strain of the virus believed to be more infectious, which was first identified in the UK.
According to a British study, the strain is between 50 and 74 percent more contagious.
In an effort to contain the spread of the disease, millions of people in Britain were subjected to stricter lockdown restrictions that took effect on December 26.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the UK to stop the spread of the new strain.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that it had been “a difficult year for everyone in this country.”
However, he added that “the early launch of vaccines and the incredible work of our scientists and the NHS means that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
About 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made before the end of the year, the UK drugmaker said, and more than 700 million worldwide by the end of March next year.
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