London, Gatra.com – The Oxford coronavirus vaccine could still be ready by the end of this year or early next year, said the company that developed it, although trials were suspended this week.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of drug giant AstraZeneca, said at an online event that vaccine development remains “on track” but they must wait for permission from an independent safety panel before continuing the research. Thus dailymail, 10/9.
The trials were stopped on Wednesday after a British woman who received the vaccine was reported suffering from it myelitis transversal, or swelling of the spinal cord. The company has denied these claims, saying more tests are needed before a final diagnosis can be made.
The Oxford vaccine is one of nine candidates in the world to have reached stage three clinical trials, and has been designated as the most promising by the World Health Organization. Millions of doses have been ordered by countries around the world, if the vaccine proves to be effective and safe to use.
CEO Soriot said once the volunteer disease was diagnosed, it would be submitted to an independent safety committee for review, which would decide whether trials could proceed. Answering a question about why research was stopped, he said it was “very common” to happen during clinical trials.
But he added: “The difference with other vaccine trials is, the whole world isn’t watching it, of course. They stop, they learn, and they start over.”
An AstraZeneca spokeswoman yesterday denied claims that a British woman had suffered myelitis transversal, stating: “We can also confirm that there was a brief trial break in July while a safety review was conducted after a volunteer was confirmed as having a case. multiple sclerosis undiagnosed, which the independent panel concluded was unrelated to vaccines. “
The vaccine, called AZD1222, is being piloted in 60,000 patients, which Soriot says is ‘typical’ for trials and large enough to see side effects.
Editor: Rohmat Haryadi
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