(Reuters) – Britain’s AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said Thursday that good data is being obtained so far on its vaccine against COVID-19, which is already in large-scale human trials and is widely regarded as the leader in the race for a vaccine against the new coronavirus. .
An employee is seen at the Reference Center for Special Immunobiologicals (CRIE) of the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp), where tests for the coronavirus Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine are being conducted, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 24 June 2020. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
The drugmaker, Britain’s most valuable listed company, also announced second-quarter results that beat its sales and earnings estimates, thanks to strong sales of a diverse line of products.
“Vaccine development is progressing well. We have had good data so far. We need to show efficacy in the clinical program, but so far so good, “Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said in a media call.
AstraZeneca has already reached agreements with countries to manufacture more than 2 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, and says it could be approved by the end of this year.
The company has had a busy few months: It took over the development of the COVID-19 injection, received billions in government funds, signed several supply deals, and was even the subject of mega-merger speculation, all while marching with its core business.
It held its outlook for 2020 on Thursday, and its shares rose approximately 3% to £ 88.6 after product sales of $ 6.05 billion in the three months to June topped the $ 6.01 billion consensus. The figure excludes mooring payments.
Newer drugs for diabetes, heart conditions and cancer, including the best-selling lung cancer drug, Tagrisso, performed well in the quarter and AstraZeneca is on track for the third consecutive year of growth.
Among medications with better-than-expected revenue, sales of the Symbicort respiratory drug increased 12% to $ 653 million, approximately $ 90 million above consensus, while revenue from the cancer drug Lynparza increased 62% to $ 554 million.
There are no approved vaccines for the disease caused by the new virus, but the AstraZeneca vaccine is widely considered the top candidate after early-stage human trial results showed that it was safe and produced an immune response.
Basic earnings of 96 cents per share exceeded analyst expectations of 93 cents. Total revenue increased 11%.
Reports by Pushkala Aripaka in Bangalore and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Additional reports from Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty
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