Following the criticism from experts in the U.S., AstraZeneca defends the outcomes and methods used in their phase three vaccine trials, stressing the “best quality” were used and that additional research will be carried out.
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After concerns were raised about its vaccine candidate, AstraZeneca shares are down by about 6 percent this week, for which the company said preliminary findings showed it to be 70 percent successful. The figure came from the combination of a smaller number of individuals who got an inadvertently lower dose of the vaccine, and what a company spokeswoman termed “serendipity,” produced 90% efficacy and a larger group who received a higher dose, showing just 62% efficacy.
On Thursday, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot revealed that the British pharmaceutical firm was likely to conduct an additional international trial to test the potency of its Covid-19 vaccine.
AstraZeneca responded against the critique, stressing the external Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) and the fact that the findings published on Monday were only interim findings and that more details would emerge.
“The investigations have been performed to the standards required,” an AstraZeneca representative said in a statement. In order to ensure protection and consistency, an independent DSMB safety control committee supervises the studies. The DSMB concluded that the study reached its primary endpoint of safety against COVID-19 emerging 14 days or more after two doses of the vaccine were administered.
Further data will begin to collect and further analysis will be done, the spokesman said, refining the reading of effectiveness and evaluating the period of safety.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine received praise outside the U.S., especially for its great ease of development and transportation and its relatively low cost to competitors. The vaccine would retail at between $3 and 5 per dose, while Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna would sell at between $20 per dose and between $32 and $37 per dose.
As an mRNA vaccine, the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate also needs exceptionally cold storage temperatures of negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit and specific transport equipment.
