Coronavirus: AstraZeneca pauses Oxford vaccine trial after unexplained illness
- Company’s experimental Covid-19 shot has been seen as one of leading candidates to reach market
- News sends AstraZeneca shares falling sharply, while rivals Moderna and BioNTech SE see their shares rise
The pause stemmed from a standard review of the company’s vaccine trials after one person developed an unexplained illness, AstraZeneca said in a statement. The move was intended to give researchers time to examine safety data while maintaining the integrity of the trials, the company said.
The vaccine, which AstraZeneca is developing with researchers from the University of Oxford, has been viewed as one of the leading candidates to reach the market. The decision to tap the brakes jolted investors, sending AstraZeneca’s US-traded shares down sharply, while boosting the stocks of some rivals developing different potential Covid-19 shots.
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” AstraZeneca spokeswoman Michele Meixell said in a statement. She said it is too early to determine the sick participant’s specific diagnosis.
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The development has the potential to disrupt one of the most closely watched scientific sprints in history. Companies have been working to find a vaccine in hopes of blunting a pandemic that has sickened more than 27 million people and killed over 894,000 worldwide. Health officials in the US and President Donald Trump have repeatedly said it is possible to have an immunisation before the end of the year, and potentially as early as next month.