AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN) said it received approval from the United Kingdom for its COVID-19 vaccine that it developed in collaboration with Oxford University on Wednesday. Britain is the 1st country to have approved the pharmaceutical giant’s COVID-19 vaccine for use as it struggles to combat the pandemic that has so far infected more than 2.3 million people countrywide and caused over 71 thousand deaths.
A report last week said that India was likely to approve AstraZeneca’s vaccine for us in the coming days.
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AstraZeneca opened more than 1% up on Wednesday but lost the entire intraday gain in the next hour. On a year-to-date basis, the stock is currently trading to close to the per-share price at which it started the year 2020. Learn more about how to invest in the stock market.
Britain orders 100 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine
AstraZeneca also highlighted in its statement on Wednesday that it’s the two-dose regime of its vaccine that has secured authorisation for use. Britain, it added, has already ordered the company to deliver 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine. As per the British Health Ministry:
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use.”
Publishing the results of its late-stage trial earlier this year, the Cambridge-based company had reported an overall efficacy of 70.4% for its COVID-19 vaccine. The company had said its vaccine was 62% effective in trial participants who received two full doses, and 90% effective when given half a dose first, followed by a full dose.
CEO Pascal Soriot’s comments on Wednesday
CEO Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca commented on the news on Wednesday and said:
“Today is an important day for millions of people in the UK who will get access to this new vaccine. It has been shown to be effective, well-tolerated, simple to administer and is supplied by AstraZeneca at no profit.”
The 90% efficacy that AstraZeneca claims for the half-dose/full-dose regime, as per researchers, needs further scientific proof. The British-Swedish multinational refrained from disclosing which dose regime received authorisation on Wednesday.
In an announcement earlier in December, AstraZeneca said it will acquire Alexion Pharmaceuticals for £29.50 million. At the time of writing, the pharmaceutical company is valued at £98.79 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 53.22.
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