Hopes for COVID-19 vaccines to beat back the pandemic assumed mass-vaccination would slow viral transmission, and not just prevent moderate-to-severe disease. Now, early data suggest that AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) COVID-19 vaccine, which it jointly developed with Oxford University, can curb viral transmission by up to 67%. The researchers didn’t study transmissibility per se; the inferred it…

The Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine could be more efficacious than those from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) or Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) based on interim trial results. The two-dose Sputnik vaccine was 91.6% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective at preventing severe and moderate disease in a study involving 19,866 participants. The data were published in The Lancet. No…

A former director of medical and scientific affairs at Merck (NYSE:MRK) faces criminal charges in federal court in New Jersey for allegedly stealing and transmitting trade secrets. Shafat A. Quadri has been released on $100,000 unsecured bond. He was most recently employed at AstraZeneca (NSDQ:AZN). The single count of trade secret theft carries a maximum potential…

The European Union has authorized the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) ahead of schedule, responding to criticism that it had been too slow in its mass vaccination plans. The E.U. drug regulator had planned on meeting later in the month to discuss the vaccine.  “This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency,”…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced yesterday that it completed the divestment of the commercial rights to Atacand to Cheplapharm. United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca’s Atacand (candesartan cilexetil) is a selective AT 1 subtype angiotensin II receptor antagonist indicated for managing hypertension in adults and children, along with heart failure in adults. In addition to the commercial rights to Atacand, AstraZeneca…

The National Health Service in the U.K. is increasing the maximum interval between shots for recipients of the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) vaccine to 12 weeks. In a letter to hospitals, NHS advised that patients scheduled to receive the second dose of the vaccine on Jan. 4 should receive it nine weeks later.  The developers of…

Chinese health authorities have authorized a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine from state-owned Sinopharm (OTCMKTS: SHTDY). The vaccine has an efficacy of 79% based on an interim analysis of a Phase 3 study.  China plans to distribute the BBIBP-CorV vaccine to citizens at no cost and distribute it to other countries that test Chinese vaccine candidates.  The country has…

An inexpensive COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) — now authorized in the U.K. — could go on to become the most widely used in the world. It is inexpensive and easy to produce.  But a major hurdle that could slow its rollout in the U.K. after yesterday’s approval is the question of how to best…

A vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) recently won authorization in the U.K. Meanwhile, health officials in Turkey and Brazil have indicated that a vaccine from the Chinese firm Sinovac is safe and effective. But one factor that could slow the deployment of both vaccines globally is confusing clinical trial results. Sinovac’s CoronaVac product…

The pharmaceutical industry launched a herculean effort to battle the COVID-19 pandemic early in 2020, developing an array of vaccines and other therapeutics while also identifying existing drugs suitable for treating patients sick with severe coronavirus infections. FDA recently granted emergency authorization to two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and several other treatments. Here are 11 of the…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:ALXN), expanding its presence in the rare-disease and immunology drugs space. The acquisition price for Boston-based Alexion is set to total approximately $39 billion, or $175 per share, according to a news release. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the acquisition and,…

As things stand now, the Pfizer-BioNTech (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NYSE:MRNA) vaccine candidates have broken away from the pack of other vaccine contenders. Both offer efficacy in the range of 95% and are inching toward emergency authorization in the U.S. and elsewhere.   But AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and Russia’s Sputnik-V lab, the Gamaleya Research Institute, are hooking up with the hopes…

Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) and Glaxo Smith Kline (NYSE:GSK) have confirmed a delay in their adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine owing to an inadequate immune response in older adults in a Phase 1/2 trial.  Sanofi and GSK now plan to launch a Phase 2b study in February 2021 to investigate a new vaccine formulation.  If that study reaches primary endpoints,…

The United Arab Emirates has approved a COVID-19 vaccine from Sinopharm (OTCMKTS:SHTDY). The China-based pharma company concluded that that the vaccine was 86% effective, putting it ahead of the vaccine performance of the vaccine candidate from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) but behind the vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NYSE:MRNA). Both of the latter two vaccines were 95% efficacious.  The UAE Ministry of…

AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) and its collaborators at the University of Oxford have published data related to their ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against the novel coronavirus in the Lancet, becoming the first vaccine developers to publish full Phase 3 results in a peer-reviewed journal.  The efficacy rate of 62.1% achieved in clinical trial participants receiving two full doses of the…

The U.S. intends to order enough Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for 50 million people, but the volume of COVID-19 vaccines the U.S. can procure could be limited until June 2021, according to the New York Times. The cause of the potential shortfall stems from the Trump administration officials’ decision to pass on an offer from Pfizer…

On the face of it, AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) seems to have a competitive COVID-19 vaccine. Its vaccine, which it has jointly developed with the University of Oxford, promises to be up to 90% effective — far higher than the FDA’s requirement of 50%. It is also inexpensive, costing $2.50 per dose.  But the company finds itself…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced today that one of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate dosing regimens is up to 90% effective in preventing the virus. Cambridge, United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca, working in collaboration with Oxford University, found the vaccine to be highly effective in preventing COVID-19 for subjects in the UK and Brazil, with no hospitalizations or severe cases of…

The director of the group developing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate at Oxford University says it’s possible that the vaccine could be ready by Christmas. According to a Reuters report, Oxford vaccine trial chief investigator Andrew Pollard said he’s optimistic that the university, which is collaborating with AstraZeneca on the vaccine, will present trial results by…

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) announced today that its potential COVID-19 vaccine prompts an immune response in older and younger adults.  The vaccine candidate is currently in a Phase 3 trial.  In September, the company had put its vaccine trial on hold after a U.K. participant suffered neurological symptoms. But the AZD1222 vaccine candidate appears to be safe based on…

Five COVID-19 vaccine candidates are going through Phase 3 clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy. Researchers worldwide are testing 132 COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including 42 that are in clinical trials on humans and at least 92 in preclinical or animal trials, according to the New York Times. With the U.S. alone topping 200,000 COVID-19…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is reportedly keeping its COVID-19 vaccine trial in the U.S. on hold as questions remain over patient safety. U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC yesterday that federal investigators are looking for “answers to important questions,” regarding the safety of patients involved in the trial operated by the United Kingdom-based…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) has resumed its COVID-19 vaccine trial in the U.K. following confirmation from the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that it was safe to proceed. The news of the trial resumption, announced Sept. 12, came six days after a voluntary pause so that an independent committee could review safety data surrounding a single event of…

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced today that it voluntarily paused the trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after an unexplained illness. The company said in a news release that a standard review process was triggered so an independent committee could review safety data surrounding a single event of an unexplained illness that occurred in the UK Phase III…

Executives from nine different drug companies today announced a pledge to ensure safety with a potential COVID-19 vaccine. The CEOs of AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Merck (NYSE:MRK), Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA), Novavax (NSDQ:NVAX), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)  and Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), all of whom are developing vaccine candidates, all signed the pledge, which vows to “uphold the integrity of the scientific process” as…