Britain tries to calm AstraZeneca worries, CEO touts new vaccine trial

LONDON – British government ministers and experts have openly supported a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, after doubts were raised in the United States this week.

Housing Minister Robert Jenrick has become the latest in a line of people commenting on the vaccine, which has been found to have an average 70% effectiveness in preventing the virus.

“I don’t think there is any reason to be unduly worried,” he told Sky News on Friday morning. “We have now written to the body which will independently assess the veracity and safety of the vaccine.”

UK government senior science adviser Patrick Vallance said the focus should be on whether the vaccine actually works when asked about doubts about the trial.

“The main result is that the vaccine works and it’s very exciting,” Vallance said at a press conference Thursday. Chief Medical Advisor Chris Whitty echoed his comments at the same conference, saying there was still a scientific debate about virtually everything.

“The gist of our point of view is to leave that in the hands of the regulator… They will do an assessment with a lot of data that is not currently in the public domain on efficacy and safety,” Whitty added.

Britain has asked its drug regulator to assess the vaccine for temporary supply, which could mean it will be rolled out in the country before the end of the year. Four million doses could be used in Britain next month, but concerns in the United States could mean a deployment there could come much later.

The 70% figure came from the combination of a smaller group of people who received an unintentionally lower dose of the vaccine that produced 90% effectiveness, and a larger group who received a higher dose, did not. showing that an efficiency of 62%.

White House Operation Warp Speed ​​chief Moncef Slaoui and others in the US have expressed concern over the age group tested, saying 90% effectiveness was not shown than for the lowest risk group, which numbered 2,741 people under the age of 55.

John LaMattina, former president of Pfizer Global R&D, said on Tuesday it was “hard to believe” the FDA would issue an EUA for a vaccine whose optimal dose was only given to 2,300 people.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, confirmed to Bloomberg on Thursday that the British pharmaceutical giant would likely conduct an additional global trial to assess the effectiveness of its Covid-19 vaccine.

The company fought back criticism, emphasizing the study’s follow-up by the External Data Security Oversight Board (DSMB) and the fact that the data released on Monday was only interim results and that other data would follow.

He stressed that the “highest standards” have been used and that “further analysis will be carried out”.

This particular vaccine is considered crucial for emerging markets because of its relative ease of manufacture and transport, and its low cost compared to its potential competitors.

AstraZeneca said its vaccine can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigerated conditions (36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least six months and administered in existing health care facilities. He also pledged to distribute the vaccine without profit “for the duration of the pandemic”.

AstraZeneca shares fell again on Friday and have fallen nearly 7% since the results of its trial were released on Monday morning.

Jim O’Neill, former chief economist at Goldman Sachs and now chairman of UK think tank Chatham House, said he hoped the confusion over the results did not “muddy the waters”. He mentioned anti-vaccination campaigners, a vocal fringe who opposes vaccinations. They believe, contrary to scientific evidence, that the ingredients in a vaccine can harm the body.

“It’s a little confusing in my opinion that to present these things via press releases without the full details that the vaccine community somehow wants … isn’t particularly helpful given the kind of general, the kind of anti-vax crowd that’s absent there, ”he told CNBC’s“ Squawk Box Europe ”Friday.

“The second thing is that it seems … the regulators here (in the UK) don’t seem to share the same concerns that are openly expressed in the US.”

—Sam Meredith of CNBC contributed to this article.