AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish drugmaker that partnered with the University of Oxford for a covid vaccine, expects results from late-stage trials of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine later this year, depending on the infection rate between the trial participants.
There are currently more than 200 vaccine candidates in development, and the vaccine being developed by Oxford and licensed for British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is considered one of the pioneers.
Work on Oxford’s viral vector vaccine, called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, began in January. It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees.
The chimpanzee cold virus has been genetically modified to include the genetic sequence of the so-called spike protein that the coronavirus uses to access human cells. The hope is that the human body will attack the new coronavirus if it sees it again.
AstraZeneca has said it is committed to providing broad and equitable access to potential vaccine without profit during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, AstraZeneca Plc said Britain’s health regulator had started an expedited review of its potential coronavirus vaccine.
In ongoing reviews, regulators can view real-time clinical data and dialogue with drug manufacturers about manufacturing processes and trials to speed up the approval process.
The approach is designed to accelerate evaluations of promising drugs or vaccines during a public health emergency.
AstraZeneca beat third-quarter sales estimates as demand for its diverse drug portfolio remained strong during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and maintained its 2020 forecasts.
Product sales, which exclude collaboration payments, rose 7% to $ 6.52 billion during the three months ended Sept. 30 in constant currency, ahead of the company-compiled consensus of $ 6.50 million.
However, the company reported basic earnings of 94 cents a share, below analysts’ expectations of 98 cents. (With contributions from the agency)
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