A clinical trial participant is receiving the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca./Photo by AP/Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] The UK government has initiated the approval process for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine jointly developed by the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
On the 27th (local time), according to major foreign media, the UK Department of Health requested the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to assess the suitability of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. In the UK, for vaccine approval, the government must first officially request an evaluation from the MHRA.
The MHRA has already received the relevant materials and begun a phased review process. The UK government expects that if the vaccine is finally approved, it will be able to secure 4 million doses within this year and 40 million doses by the end of March next year. On the 20th, the UK government also requested the MHRA to assess the suitability of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Earlier, the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca announced that the initial data analysis from the Phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine under development showed an average immune efficacy of 70%.
However, participants who were first given half a dose of the vaccine and then a full dose one month later showed a 90% efficacy, while those who received two full doses showed a 62% efficacy. The research team has yet to determine the cause of the difference in immune efficacy depending on the dosage.
As questions about the vaccine's reliability arose, Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, announced plans to conduct additional global clinical trials on the low-dose vaccination method.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
