CAJICA, Colombia – Latin American countries are rushing to sign deals to gain access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, with Brazil, the largest in the region, right in the race. Already, the country has the third most COVID-19 cases globally, behind only India and the U.S.
The Astrazeneca plc and Oxford University phase III trial of their adenovirus-based coronavirus vaccine is back up and running in the U.K. after a week’s worth of study and decision-making. The company said it still plans to report data from the study by the end of this year.
LONDON – The U.K. government has signed a €1.4 billion (US$1.7 billion) advance purchase agreement with French biotech Valneva SE, for the supply of up to 190 million doses of its attenuated COVID-19 vaccine, VLA-2001.
With phase III COVID-19 vaccine trials each enrolling 30,000 participants or more in the U.S. and randomizing half of them to a placebo arm, only 150 incidents of the coronavirus infection are needed in a trial to show if the vaccine is at least 50% effective, NIH Director Francis Collins testified at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing Sept. 9.
A phase III trial of AZD-1222, an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Astrazeneca plc and Oxford University, has been paused due to an unexplained illness that occurred in the U.K., the company said on Sept. 8.
PERTH, Australia – Australia’s biopharma sector fared better than the country at large at the end of the financial year that ended June 30, as the country saw GDP fall 7% in the final quarter, the largest drop since 1959. Australia’s trading relationship with China helped the country sidestep the global financial recession of 2008, but the recent divide between the U.S. and China is also putting a wedge between Australia and China relations.
PERTH, Australia – Australia’s biopharma sector fared better than the country at large at the end of the financial year that ended June 30, as the country saw GDP fall 7% in the final quarter, the largest drop since 1959.
Detailed results from a phase III test of Astrazeneca plc's Farxiga found that adding the drug to standard of care in patients with chronic kidney disease reduced a composite measure of worsening of renal function or risk of cardiovascular or renal death by 39% compared to placebo.
PERTH, Australia – As Victoria suffers through a second COVID-19 wave, bringing the death toll to 430 for Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australians could be among the first in the world to receive a COVID-19 vaccine through an agreement with Astrazeneca plc. Under the deal, every Australian would be able to receive AZD-1222, which is being developed with the University of Oxford.
