A possible coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in the UK with the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has produced a strong immune response in a large early-stage trial in humans, according to recently published data published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. .
The researchers are calling their experimental vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. It combines genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus known to cause infection in chimpanzees. The phase one trial had more than 1,000 participants.
AstraZeneca shares fell approximately 3% in morning operations.
The researchers said the vaccine produced antibodies and killer T cells to fight the infection. Neutralizing antibodies, which scientists believe is important in obtaining protection against the virus, were detected in the participants after 28 days.
The vaccine was found to be well tolerated and there were no serious adverse events, according to the researchers. Fatigue and headache were the most commonly reported, they said. Other common side effects include pain at the injection site, muscle pain, chills, and fever.
Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, told CNBC on Monday that the strong immune response means the vaccine is more likely to provide protection against the virus, although nothing is guaranteed. He said scientists hope to begin human trials in the United States in the coming weeks.
“We are using a single dose and two doses of the vaccine,” he told “Worldwide Exchange.” “It appears that both give useful immune responses despite the fact that after two doses we see stronger immune responses. And continue to follow these people and start trials elsewhere. Hopefully in the United States in the coming weeks.”
The possible Oxford vaccine is one of at least 100 developed worldwide for Covid-19, which has infected more than 14 million people worldwide and killed at least 606,206, according to data compiled by Johns University. Hopkins. At least 23 of them are already in human trials, according to the World Health Organization.
Last week, biotech firm Moderna released promising data on its potential coronavirus vaccine trial, saying it generated a “robust” immune response. That trial included 45 healthy participants and was led by the National Institutes of Health.
AstraZeneca is working with industry partners to manufacture and distribute 2 billion doses of the vaccine with Oxford, it said in June.
The drug maker is accelerating manufacturing while trials are still underway to make the vaccine publicly available as soon as possible if it works, according to Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Outbreak Preparedness Innovations, which is working with AstraZeneca on the production of the medicine.
While the Oxford data is promising, scientists caution that questions remain about how the human body responds once it has been infected with the virus. They say the answers may have important implications for vaccine development, including how quickly it can be deployed to the public.
A critical question among scientists is whether the antibodies produced in response to Covid-19 offer protection against infection again.
Scientists hope that the antibodies offer some degree of protection against Covid-19, but they cannot yet say definitively since the virus was discovered just six months ago. It has not been studied in depth and some patients appear to have been reinfected after recovering from Covid-19.
—CNBC Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this report.
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