CureVac shares plunge after Covid vaccine falls short in clinical trial June 17, 2021 The German biotech lost more than half its value after a preliminary analysis of late-stage trials found its Covid-19 vaccine was only 47 per cent effective. CureVac’s disappointing mRNA vaccine trial results call into question its future contribution to the global vaccination effort. The interim analysis of the jab’s trials found that it was one [...]
AstraZeneca and Alexion swap senior staff ahead of $39bn deal close June 4, 2021 Drugmaker AstraZeneca has poached Alexion Pharmaceutical’s chief financial officer ahead of its acquisition, as the pharma firms shuffle their senior staff. Joining with an £850,000 base salary, Aradhana Sarin will join when the deal closes as both an executive director and chief financial officer if the pharmaceutical firm’s deal for Alexion Pharmaceuticals goes to plan. [...]
CMA and EU antitrust watchdogs eye AstraZeneca’s $39bn Alexion deal June 1, 2021 EU antitrust watchdogs and are set to decide by this weekend whether to approve AstraZeneca’s $39bn bid for biopharmaceutical company Alexion, a European Commission filing revealed today. Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca sought approval for the deal on Monday. However, the UK’s competition regulator is reviewing the takeover bid for the US-based pharma firm, until 5 July – [...]
AstraZeneca boss: Digital innovation vital to equipping health systems for next pandemic May 26, 2021 AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot has said healthcare systems need greater flexibility and digital innovation to enable remote treatment if they are to better deal with future pandemics. Soriot’s firm has been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19, producing a cheap, easily-shipped vaccine against the novel coronavirus. But Soriot said one of the most [...]
36m Brits have received first vaccine dose as UK records just five Covid deaths May 17, 2021 There were 1,979 new cases of coronavirus recorded on Monday 17 May, and five deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test while the number of those vaccinated against the virus continues to rise. Since vaccines started being administered in December, over 20m adults in the UK have received both doses of a Covid-19 [...]
UK’s 12-week vaccine delay could have saved lives, study says May 13, 2021 The UK’s 12-week delay between first and second vaccine doses could have saved more lives, according to a US study published in the British Medical Journal, suggesting other countries strapped for jabs could adopt the strategy. The second shots of the Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines are designed to be given three to four weeks [...]
Bitter clash at Astrazeneca as 40 per cent of shareholders reject CEO pay package May 11, 2021 A share bonus hike for Astrazeneca’s chief executive was only narrowly approved in a vote where nearly 40 per cent of the pharma’s shareholders rejected the proposed pay package. The pharmaceutical giant did pass the proposal, however, which could take Pascal Soriot’s total pay, including a £1.3m salary, above the £15.4m he received last year. [...]
EU demands 120m AstraZeneca jabs by end of June as second legal case begins May 11, 2021 The European Union wants AstraZeneca to deliver at least 120m vaccine doses by the end of June, a lawyer representing the EU said today. EU lawyer Rafael Jafferali spoke in a Belgian court as proceedings started in the second legal case against AstraZeneca over delayed supplies. The pharma firm had originally agreed to deliver the [...]
Astrazeneca shareholders in row over chief executive’s £2.3m bonus hike May 9, 2021 Astrazeneca shareholders have been plunged into a bitter row over plans to hike chief executive Pascal Soriot’s pay by £2.3m. The French pharma boss has been praised for rolling out the company’s Covid-19 vaccine at cost price, as well as driving up its share price since he took over in 2012. But major shareholders have [...]
Indian Covid mutation declared ‘variant of concern’ over fears of rapid spread May 7, 2021 A coronavirus strain first detected in India has been declared a “variant of concern” over fears that it may be spreading more quickly than the dominant Kent strain. Public Health England (PHE) said it had “moderate confidence” that the Indian mutation, known officially as B16172, spreads at least as quickly as the strain first found in Kent last [...]