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LONDON – AstraZeneca said on Monday that late-stage studies showed its coronavirus vaccine was up to 90% effective, giving public health officials hope they may soon have access to a cheaper and easier-to-use vaccine. distribute compared to some of its rivals.
The results are based on the interim analysis of trials in the UK and Brazil of a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by AstraZeneca. There have been no reported hospitalizations or severe cases of COVID-19 in those who received the vaccine.
AstraZeneca is the third major pharmaceutical company to report late-stage findings for a potential COVID-19 vaccine as the world eagerly awaits scientific discoveries that will end a pandemic that has caused economic devastation and resulted in nearly 1.4 million deaths confirmed.
Pfizer and Moderna last week reported preliminary results from late-stage studies showing their vaccines were nearly 95 percent effective. But unlike its rivals, the AstraZeneca vaccine does not need to be stored in ultra-cold temperatures, making it easier to distribute, especially in developing countries.
“I think these are really exciting results,” said Dr. Andrew Pollard, lead investigator of the trial. “Because the vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperature, it can be distributed around the world using the normal vaccination distribution system. And so our goal of making sure we have a vaccine accessible everywhere, I think we actually managed to do that. . “
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is also cheaper. AstraZeneca, which has pledged not to make any profits from the vaccine during the pandemic, has reached agreements with governments and international health organizations that have priced it at around $ 2.50 per dose. Pfizer’s vaccine costs around $ 20 per dose, while Moderna’s is from $ 15 to $ 25, based on agreements the companies have made to supply their vaccines to the US government.
All three vaccines must be approved by regulatory authorities before they can be widely distributed.
The results come as a second wave of COVID-19 hits many countries, once again shutting down businesses, limiting social interaction and hitting the world economy.
AstraZeneca said it will immediately require early approval of the vaccine where possible and will seek a list of emergency uses from the World Health Organization so it can make the vaccine available in low-income countries.
The AstraZeneca study looked at two different dosage regimens. A half dose of the vaccine followed by a full dose at least one month later was 90% effective. Another approach, giving patients two full doses one month apart, was 62% effective. The combined results showed an average efficacy rate of 70%.
The vaccine uses a weakened version of a common cold virus that is combined with genetic material for the virus’s characteristic spike protein that causes COVID-19. After vaccination, the spike protein prepares the immune system to attack the virus if it subsequently infects the body.
The vaccine can be transported in “normal refrigerated conditions” of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit), AstraZeneca said. By comparison, Pfizer plans to distribute its vaccine using specially designed “thermal dispatchers” that use dry ice to maintain temperatures of minus -70 degrees Celsius (minus -94 degrees Fahrenheit).
Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, said the finding that a smaller starting dose is more effective than a larger one is good news because it can reduce costs and mean more people can be vaccinated.
“The report that an initial half dose is better than a full dose seems counterintuitive to those of us who think of vaccines as normal drugs: with drugs, we expect higher doses to have greater effects and more side effects,” he said. . “But the immune system doesn’t work that way.”
The findings reported on Monday come from studies in the UK and Brazil involving 23,000 people. Advanced trials are also underway in the United States, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Kenya and Latin America, with further trials planned for other European and Asian countries.
AstraZeneca has increased production capacity so it can supply hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine starting in January, CEO Pascal Soriot said earlier this month.
Soriot said on Monday that Oxford’s simpler supply chain of the vaccine and AstraZeneca’s commitment to provide it on a non-profit basis during the pandemic mean it will be accessible and available to people around the world.
“The efficacy and safety of this vaccine confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this health emergency,” Soriot said.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he felt “a great sense of relief” at the news from AstraZeneca.
Britain has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine and the government says several million doses can be produced before the end of the year if approved by regulators.
Just months ago, “the idea that by November we would have three vaccines, all of which are highly effective, would have given me teeth for my eyes,” Hancock said.
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