Big relief for AstraZeneca: COVID-19 vaccine shows 79% efficacy in US Phase-3 trials
The interim safety and efficacy analysis was based on 32,449 participants accruing 141 symptomatic cases of COVID-19.
(Image Source: Reuters)
Written By
Edited By
Shampa Sen
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DNA Web Desk
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is all set to get emergency authorization in the United States after facing a major setback in Europe. Trials in Chile, Peru, and the United States found the vaccine 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in US Phase-3 trials as per interim analysis and crucially, posed no increased risk of blood clots, the drugmaker said on Monday.
With this positive result, the drugmaker now intends to request US emergency authorization in the coming weeks. AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is made in collaboration with Oxford University. AstraZeneca shares were up over 1% in early London trading.
The interim safety and efficacy analysis was based on 32,449 participants accruing 141 symptomatic cases of COVID-19. The trial had a 2:1 randomisation of vaccine to placebo. This AstraZeneca-led US Phase-3 trial included two doses administered at a four-week interval. US trials of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have previously shown efficacy rates of around 95%.
The results are good news for older adults, who made up about a quarter of the tests, after trials, last year failed to provide conclusive data for that age group due to a lack of participants over the age of 65.
Amidst confusions, the data comes at a time when many countries resumed the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) said the benefits outweighed the risks following investigations into reports of blood clots.
The London-listed firm said the panel found "no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterised by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. The specific search for CVST found no events in this trial."
More than a dozen European countries, including Germany and France, had halted the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this month after some reports linked it to blood clots in a very small number of people.