Despite pause in trials, AstraZeneca hopeful of Covid-19 vaccine launch by year end

New Delhi: Global drugs maker AstraZeneca has said that Covid-19 vaccine could still be made by end of this year, despite a randomised clinical trial in the UK being paused.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said on Wednesday that vaccine against the novel coronavirus developed by the pharmaceutical company would be ready by the end of 2020 or early 2021, despite having to halt clinical trials.

The giant drug maker had put a stop on trials after a participant was discovered sick with transverse myelitis. This condition resulted in the inflammation of parts of the spinal cord and may be caused by infections, among other things.

According to Financial Times, the AstraZeneca might resume clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine early next week.

“We could still have a vaccine by the end of this year, early next year. Even so, I still think we are on track for having a set of data that we would submit before the end of the year [for regulatory approval],” Soriot said.

The vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group is in phase 3 trials, which is the final stage before safety and efficacy data can be submitted to health regulators for approval.

According to the CEO, it is common to have such pauses in trials. The only difference is that usually, the whole world is not watching.

More than 50,000 people worldwide have joined the  clinical studies to see whether the candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, can develop an immune response to COVID-19.