AstraZeneca PLC, the British drugmaker working on one of the world’s leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates, yesterday beat third-quarter sales estimates and reiterated that it expects data from late-stage trials of the vaccine later this year.
The firm has taken on development of Oxford University’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, signing multiple deals to supply more than 3 billion doses to countries around the world.
Data in October showed that the vaccine, called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, produces an immune response in old and young adults.
Photo: Reuters
AstraZeneca is expected to publish late-stage clinical trial data in the next few weeks.
Expectations are that Britain could start rolling out a successful vaccine late next month or early next year.
AstraZeneca also said that it is now targeting to recruit 40,000 volunteers for its US COVID-19 vaccine trial, up from about 30,000 previously.
While AstraZeneca marches on with the vaccine, demand for its diverse portfolio of drugs remained strong, despite disruptions to health systems amid the pandemic.
Product sales, which exclude payments from collaborations, rose 7 percent to US$6.52 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30 on a constant-currency basis, ahead of a company-compiled consensus of US$6.50 billion.
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