AstraZeneca to provide vaccine trial data by year’s end
AstraZeneca hopes showing its COVID-19 vaccine works well by the end of this year and is ramping up manufacturing so that it can supply vast sums of doses starting in January, LEADER Pascal Soriot said Thursday.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is dealing with the University of Oxford to build up one of the most closely watched COVID-19 vaccines, which is in late stage trials in the U.S., Britain and other countries to determine its safety and effectiveness. Once those email address details are reported, regulators must approve the vaccine for widespread use.
“We have aligned the timing of delivery of vials to the timing of the clinical trial readout,” Soriot told analysts on a conference call. “On a global basis, we’ll be ready to supply hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine around the world by January.”
Governments and public health authorities are anxiously awaiting the development of a vaccine as they choose a way to combat the COVID-19 pandemic without the restrictions on business and social life that are punishing the world economy. Infection rates are rising in many countries amid a second wave of the virus which has killed a lot more than 1.2 million persons worldwide.
Soriot’s comments came as AstraZeneca released results showing that third-quarter earnings rose 3% as the pandemic reduced new cancer diagnoses and elective procedures, cutting demand for its products.
AstraZeneca and Oxford have pledged to supply their COVID-19 vaccine on a non-profit basis during the pandemic. AstraZeneca will continue steadily to provide you with the vaccine to developing countries without profit following the pandemic is brought under control, and wealthy countries can pay a “relatively low priced,” Ruud Dobber, president of the company’s U.S. unit, told The Associated Press.
“We are extremely committed to be sure that not merely the rich countries but also, once again, the low- and middle-income countries are able to have this vaccine so that you can protect their people,” Dobber said within an interview.
Kate Bingham, chair of Britain’s Vaccine Taskforce, says data on the two most advanced vaccine prospects - AstraZeneca-Oxford and Pfizer’s collaboration with BioNTech - ought to be obtainable in early December.
Regulators in the U.S. and Britain are conducting an accelerated review that could cause approval.
“If we get that, we've the possibility of deploying by year end,” Bingham told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday
Bingham acknowledged that there will only be about 4 million doses available to the U.K. by the end of 2020, regardless of the government’s earlier estimate that 30 million doses would be ready by September. The shortfall is because of manufacturing “hiccups” which may have since been resolved, she said.
The delay in developing the vaccine is partly due to the drop in COVID-19 cases earlier this season, which slowed the progress of human trials that count on subjects exposure to the disease naturally, Soriot said Thursday.
Also, the business is holding off on producing doctor-ready vials of the vaccine to make sure it gets the longest possible shelf-life after obtaining regulatory approval. AstraZeneca is building frozen stockpiles of the vaccine’s active component, which will be turned into the injectable vaccine when the clinical data comes through.
Waiting before last moment signifies that precious shelf life will be preserved, Soriot said.
“What we've done is we've aligned the timing of delivery of vials to the timing of the clinical trial readout,” he said. “Once you turn this vaccine into vials, the shelf life starts ticking.’’
