‘Oxford vaccine can be 90% effective’

Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Monday that its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be about 90% effective without any serious side effects.

AstraZeneca unveiled its positive interim data in a scientific race to curb the global pandemic.

The vaccine, developed by Oxford University, was 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 when it was administered as a half dose followed by a full dose at least one month apart, according to data from the late-stage trials in Britain and Brazil.

No serious safety events related to the vaccine have been confirmed and it was well tolerated across both dosing regimens, it said.

“This vaccine's efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against Covid-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.

The British drugmaker's preliminary trial results mark a fresh breakthrough in the fight against a pandemic that has killed nearly 1.4m people and disrupted the global economy.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was “incredibly exciting news the Oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials”.

AstraZeneca shares fell 1.1% in early morning trade, defying expectations for a bounce and underperforming the wider market with the FTSE 100 index rising 0.5% at the open.

Another dosing regimen showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart, and the combined analysis from both dosing regimens resulted in an average efficacy of 70%.

All results were statistically significant.

The interim analysis was based on 131 infections among participants who received the vaccine and those in a control group who were given an established meningitis shot.

The data showing a range of efficacy between 60% and 90% comes after US rivals published interim data in recent weeks showing efficacy of more than 90%.

While the efficacy reading from AstraZeneca's viral vector vaccine is lower than its US rivals, the data will boost confidence about the chances of successfully developing a variety of vaccines using different approaches.

Public health experts say the world will need many vaccines to meet global demand.

On November 16, US-based Moderna Inc said its experimental vaccine proved to be 94.5% effective based on an early data analysis.

A week earlier, Pfizer Inc and Germany's BioNTech SE said their vaccine candidate had demonstrated greater than 90% efficacy, rising  to 95% with analysis of full trial data.

Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine on November 11 was also shown to be more than 90% effective, though it was only based on 20 infections.

The AstraZeneca vaccine uses a modified version of a chimpanzee common-cold virus to deliver instructions to cells to fight the target virus.

This is different to the new technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA) deployed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

The company — one of the UK's most valuable listed companies — will now immediately prepare regulatory submission of the data to authorities about the world that have a framework in place for conditional or early approval.

It will also seek an emergency use listing from the World Health Organisation to speed up availability in low-income countries.

In parallel, full analysis of the interim results is being submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. — Reuters