WRAPUP 4-AstraZeneca resumes U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trial and J&J prepares to do same

AstraZeneca Plc has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by regulators, and Johnson & Johnson is preparing to resume its trial as well, the companies said on Friday.

AstraZeneca's U.S. trial was paused on Sept. 6 after a report of a serious neurological illness, believed to be transverse myelitis, in a participant in the company's UK trial. J&J paused its large, late-stage trial last week after a study participant became ill and the company said an independent safety panel was investigating. J&J said on Friday that the safety panel, called a Data and Safety Monitoring Board, has recommended that the drugmaker resume trial recruitment after finding no evidence that the vaccine caused the volunteer to fall ill.

J&J is preparing to resume its trial in the United States and is in discussions with other regulators to resume a trial outside of the United States as well, it said. So far, the medical board has not identified a clear cause for the patients' illness.

AstraZeneca trials in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa resumed last month even as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continued its investigation into the case. Reuters earlier this week reported that the FDA had completed its review and that the AstraZeneca U.S. trial was set to resume as early as this week, citing four sources familiar with the situation.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is being developed along with researchers at Oxford University.