Sage advisers: Protection given from Covid vaccine ‘highly likely’ to wane over time July 30, 2021 Vaccine campaigns will likely have to continue for many years as the Covid immunity induced by the shots is ‘highly likely to wane over time’, according to scientific advisers to the government. “It is highly likely that vaccine induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and potentiallysevere disease (but probably to a lesser extent) will wane over [...]
Astrazeneca mulls offloading Covid vaccines unit even as total revenues soar above $15bn July 29, 2021 UK-listed Covid vaccine maker Astrazeneca today admitted it’s considering offloading its vaccines unit even as it cheered a 23 per cent revenue rise to $15.5bn for the first half of 2021 – boosted in part by orders for the preventative measure. A senior executive confirmed to Reuters that it is reviewing the future of the [...]
CMA green light: £28bn AstraZeneca and Alexion deal to close late July July 14, 2021 The UK competition watchdog has cleared vaccine maker AstraZeneca’s £28bn bid for rival Alexion, which has been confirmed to close on 21 July. First announced in December last year, the deal is intended to bolster AstraZeneca’s immunology capabilities by adding Alexion’s technology platforms. European Union regulators gave the deal the green light last week. Despite [...]
EU regulators clear Astrazeneca’s £28bn takeover of rival Alexion July 6, 2021 European regulators have cleared Astrazeneca’s £28bn takeover of rival Alexion Pharmaceuticals, the British company announced today. The deal, first agreed in December, will give Astrazeneca access to five new drugs and more than a dozen in Alexion’s pipeline. Astra said the clearance from Brussels was an important step towards completed its buyout of the New [...]
Pfizer and Moderna vaccine supply limits pace of jab rollout June 30, 2021 There are not enough Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being supplied to reduce the eight week interval between doses, according to analysts. “It appears from the data available that Pfizer and Moderna supplies are the pace-limiting factor,” Matt Linley, an analyst at Airfinity, a data company tracking the vaccine rollout, told The Times. Last month, the [...]
UK researchers identify level of antibodies needed to prevent symptomatic Covid-19 June 24, 2021 Scientists at the University of Oxford said the results of their research could help speed up new vaccine development. Oxford-based medical researchers have today released a new study indentifying the level of antibodies required to prevent symptomatic Covid – referred to as the “correlates of protection”. Their findings could serve as a huge breakthrough in [...]
AstraZeneca claims victory over EU in vaccine deliveries case, but will be fined for late supplies June 18, 2021 AstraZeneca claims victory over EU in vaccine deliveries case
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 – [...]