Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Has Winning Formula, Will 'Protect 95% Of Patients', Says AstraZeneca CEO

The Coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is "as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna" alternatives and is likely to protect "95 per cent of patients", NDTV quoted chief executive of AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot as telling British daily The Sunday Times. The CEO also asserted that scientists who developed the Oxford Coronavirus vaccine figured out "winning formula to get efficacy up there with everybody else".

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It must be noted that AstraZeneca hasn't released any official data proving the CEO's claims. Moreover, the vaccine III phase trials had shown 70 per cent efficacy. Pfizer vaccine, on the other hand, had shown an efficacy of 95 per cent and Moderna at 94.5 per cent.

The oxford Coronavirus vaccine is likely to be cleared by the British drug regulator this week. Soriot also exuded confidence that the drug will be affective against the mutated strain of Coronavirus too.

Meanwhile, the Indian drug regulator is looking at the UK, which sources believe may give its nod to the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine next week, before deciding on giving emergency use authorisation to the Serum Institute that is manufacturing the shots in India.

Once the UK drug regulator gives its approval to the Oxford vaccine, the expert committee on COVID-19 at the CDSCO will hold its meeting and thoroughly review the safety and immunogenicity data from the clinical evaluations conducted abroad and in India before granting any emergency authorisation for the vaccine here, official sources told news agency PTI yesterday.

The Pune-based SII, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has made a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine. The SII has already manufactured 40 million doses of the vaccine, under the at-risk manufacturing and stockpiling licence from the DCGI, officials recently had said.

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