Coronavirus: NHS boss confirms health service is preparing for vaccine by Christmas November 4, 2020 The NHS is preparing to distribute potential Covid-19 vaccines in time for Christmas, the head of the health service announced today. Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, said medical chiefs were drawing up plans for wide-scale rollout of a potential vaccine over the next two months, in case one of them is ready in [...]
Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]
Astrazeneca and Pfizer vaccines under accelerated review by drugs regulator October 30, 2020 The UK’s drugs regulator has reportedly begun an accelerated review of coronavirus vaccine candidates developed by Astrazeneca and Pfizer. Bloomberg reported that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have already commenced ongoing reviews of both vaccines. A source familiar with the trial confirmed to Bloomberg that Pfizer’s treatment was under review, although this [...]
AstraZeneca strikes £307m deal for heart and blood pressure medicines October 30, 2020 UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) said today it will sell the commercial rights for two of its heart failure and blood pressure medicines to German pharmaceutical company Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH for £307m. Cheplapharm, which already holds the European rights for Atacand and Atacand Plus since 2018, can sell now them in around 70 countries under [...]
How close are we to having an approved coronavirus vaccine? October 28, 2020 There are a number of vaccine programmes which have advanced to stage three trials, the final hurdle before approval, including two based in the UK. How are they progressing?
Coronavirus: Death rate among hospitalised patients halves since first wave October 27, 2020 Death rates among patients hospitalised with coronavirus have halved since the peak of the first wave, according to new research. Analysis of more than 21,000 hospital admissions in England showed the rate of deaths in both high dependency units and intensive care plunged between March and the end of June. Data published by the University [...]
Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial to continue despite participant death October 21, 2020 Trials of Oxford University and Astrazeneca’s [LON:AZN] coronavirus vaccine will continue despite the death of a participant in Brazil. A spokesperson for the university said that a review of the death had not revealed any safety concerns. “Following careful assessment of this case in Brazil, there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical [...]
Astrazeneca partners up with Thailand for vaccine manufacture in Southeast Asia October 12, 2020 Thailand has announced it will partner up with Astrazeneca to scale up production of its potential coronavirus vaccine, as the pharmaceuticals company seeks to strengthen manufacture of the drug further afield. The Thai Ministry of Public Health today said it will roll out “large scale manufacturing” of the potential Covid vaccine at Siam Bioscience in [...]
Astrazeneca pauses Covid-19 vaccine trial after patient contracts mystery illness September 9, 2020 Drugs giant Astrazeneca last night said that it had paused trials of its potential coronavirus vaccine after one of the study participants contracted an unknown illness. The vaccine, which is being developed in conjunction with scientists at the University of Oxford, is widely considered one of the leading candidates in the hunt for a way [...]
EU to pay Astrazeneca £300m for Oxford coronavirus vaccine August 27, 2020 The European Union will pay €336m (£300m) for 300m doses for a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and drugs giant Astrazeneca. In a statement, the EU said that as well as the initial doses, the deal would give it the chance to purchase an additional 100m doses, which would then [...]