AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Summary
- Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson will resume their clinical trials in the US from this week
- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorised AstraZeneca to restart their trial in the US
- Johnson & Johnson said that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board had asked the drugmaker to resume trial recruitment for their clinical trial.
Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson said recently that they would resume their clinical trials in the US after discontinuing it last month. On 23 October, both the companies said the top authorities had given them a green light to continue with their trials after they had to halt them last month because participants fell ill, which slowed down the race for a shot to halt the pandemic.
The US has seen an increase in the number of coronavirus cases. According to the figures from Johns Hopkins University, the US has recorded the highest single-day increase since July on 23 October, after recording more than 71,000 coronavirus cases. An increase in the average new cases has been reported by a total of 41 states, and 15 states have reported an uptick in hospitalisations in the previous week.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca PLC (LON: AZN) which is developing a vaccine for the Covid-19 with the UK’s University of Oxford, had suspended its trial across the world on 6 September after a participant in the UK had reportedly developed a serious reaction. A detailed investigation into the matter found out that there was no link between those cases and the vaccine. Following which the Food and Drug Administration gave the go-ahead to the company. A volunteer had fallen sick over a month ago after which it had suspended its trials.
In a statement, AstraZeneca said that the FDA had authorised the company to restart its trial in the US after it was resumed in all the other countries in recent weeks. The body had reviewed all safety data and said that the trial was safe.
Do Read: Covid-19 vaccine race: AstraZeneca yet to resume US trials, Novavax starts phase 3 study
The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca, is at an advanced stage compared to other vaccines in the world. Sources said the company was adding a new expert panel “to provide advice on diagnosis and causality assessment of neurological events” and also to keep an eye on the standard and safety aspect.
The Medicines Health Regulatory Authority had certified that it was safe after it had been suspended in the UK. Countries like South Africa, Brazil and Japan had also restarted after authorities concluded that the illness was not linked to the vaccine.
Also Read: AstraZeneca Rekindles the Hope of Vaccine After A Voluntary Halt in Late-Stage Trial
AZN’s stock last traded at GBX 7,943.00 on 23 October 2020, down by 0.15 per cent from its previous close. The 52-week low/high price was GBX 6,221.00/9,320.00. It was having a market capitalisation (Mcap) of £104,393.17 million. The company recorded a positive return on price, which was 3.69 per cent on a YTD (Year to Date) basis.
Johnson & Johnson
On 24 October, Johnson & Johnson also said that it was preparing to resume recruitment for its clinical trial. The Phase 3 trial for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine was halted on 13 October after a participant became ill.
The firm in a statement said that after a thorough evaluation of a serious medical event experienced by one study participant, no clear cause had been identified.
The world is waiting for a vaccine to be available soon. The researchers all around the world are working throughout the day to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. There have been just two coronavirus vaccines that have been approved till date. Sputnik V, formerly known as Gam-COVID-Vac, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute in Moscow. On 11 August, the vaccine got approval by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
EpiVacCorona, the second vaccine in Russia, has also been granted regulatory approval.
UK Healthcare Worker’s Expectations
Meanwhile, more than half of the UK healthcare workers are of the view that the healthcare industry will witness a drastic change after the pandemic. A new research on the ‘Return to Work’ study from Qualtrics was conducted with 2,000 full-time workers in the UK which showed that 58 per cent are expecting their industry to fundamentally change.
The research also revealed that 51 per cent of the workers in healthcare believe that the industry will be forced to focus more on innovation and over 39 per cent foresee a shift to telehealth services in the near future.
The findings also revealed that a 46 per cent believe that the pandemic has created increased employee engagement amongst healthcare workers, while 39 per cent estimates increased loyalty from those on the front lines. The Covid cases in the hospital in England have jumped by nearly a quarter.
