Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia– The British health agency, the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority, said that clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine were safe to resume after being suspended due to safety concerns. AstraZeneca briefly stopped trials earlier this week because of the potential for unexplained disease.
Reporting from CNBC International The company declined to disclose medical information about the clinical trial lag, but indicated earlier this week that a potentially unexplained disease was being investigated. Although trials can now continue in the UK, the status of trials elsewhere remains unclear.
“Companies will continue to work with health authorities around the world and be guided as to when other clinical trials can proceed to provide a vaccine widely, fairly and profitably during this pandemic,” AstraZeneca said in a statement. CNBC International, Sunday (13/09/2020).
The University of Oxford, which is developing the vaccine in partnership with AstraZeneca, said Saturday that about 18,000 people had so far received vaccinations in trials.
“In a large trial like this one, it is expected that some participants will become unwell and each case must be carefully evaluated to ensure a careful safety assessment,” Oxford said in a statement.
Previously AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told a private press conference that the disease occurred in a woman in the UK who showed neurological symptoms consistent with an inflammatory spinal disorder called transverse myelitis.
Soriot also confirmed that AstraZeneca’s clinical trial had been stopped once earlier in July after a participant developed neurological symptoms, but the disease was apparently not related to the experimental vaccine.
AstraZeneca’s potential coronavirus vaccine, called AZD1222, is one of the pioneers in the race towards a safe and effective vaccine that can reduce the global pandemic. The company launched its final stage trials in late August. It is one of at least three vaccine candidates, along with Pfizer and Moderna, entering final stages of trials.
Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) have previously praised the AstraZeneca vaccine candidate as one of the most promising under development. On Thursday, WHO Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said there was no need to be “too discouraged” and said things like this could happen.
“I think this is great … it might be a call or lesson for everyone to be aware of the fact that there are ups and downs in research, there are ups and downs in clinical development and we have to be prepared for that,” Soumya said.
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