AstraZeneca and Oxford Say Vaccine Is Up to 90 Percent Effective

The data released on Monday came from AstraZeneca’s Phase 2/3 clinical trial in Britain and its Phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either the coronavirus vaccine or a meningitis vaccine as a control, followed by a booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine, the meningitis vaccine or a placebo about four weeks later. Professor Pollard said the Oxford scientists hoped to submit the results for publication in a peer-reviewed journal within 24 hours.

A vaccine deploying the technology behind AstraZeneca’s candidate has never won approval. But the approach has been studied before, notably in a small 2018 study of an experimental vaccine against the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. That virus is related to SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

When Covid-19 emerged, the team of scientists at Oxford’s Jenner Institute that had been leading the work on similar coronaviruses had a head start. Once the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 was published in early January, the Oxford team sped to adapt their platform to the new coronavirus and begin animal testing.

They also needed a development and manufacturing partner and found one in AstraZeneca in April. Safety testing in Britain began that month.

In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pledged up to $1.2 billion to help fund AstraZeneca’s development and manufacturing of the vaccine and secure at least 300 million doses if it proved to work. Alex M. Azar II, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, called the deal “a major milestone” in the work of Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government’s program to fast-track Covid-19 vaccines.

AstraZeneca has struck deals to supply doses of its vaccine, once authorized, to other wealthy nations, including Britain and other nations in Europe, as well as to lower- and middle- income countries. AstraZeneca’s vaccine is on track to supply 44 percent of all doses to lower- and middle-income countries, and 33 percent of all doses globally, according to projections from the British research firm Airfinity, which tracks deals between vaccine manufacturers and governments.

Jenny Gross contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/business/astrazeneca-oxford-coronavirus-vaccine.html