A leading vaccine candidate from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University showed a “robust immune” response to the coronavirus in a randomized trial in humans, the company said Monday.
Researchers tried both a one-shot dose and a two-dose regimen of the vaccine known as AZD1222 in the phase I-II trial involving more than 1,000 adults.
“The immune responses observed following vaccination are in line with what we expect will be associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must continue with our rigorous clinical trial program to confirm this,” said Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial. “We saw the strongest immune response in participants who received two doses of the vaccine, indicating that this might be a good strategy for vaccination.”
The shots also produced T-cells that peaked 14 days after injection and persisted for two months. Those cells are increasingly considered a key component in mitigating the worst effects of the disease.
The results of the study were published in The Lancet, an esteemed science journal.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is considered one of the front-runners in the broad and aggressive effort to develop a vaccine for the virus, which has upended normal life and killed more than 600,000 people worldwide.
The vaccine candidate, which relies on a modified adenovirus, has entered phase II-III trials in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. Similar trials will begin in the U.S. soon.
There are over 100 vaccine candidates in development, though the Trump administration is offering financial support for several leading candidates as part of its “Operation Warp Speed” mission to land shots before the end of the year.
AstraZeneca said it has committed 2 billion doses of its trial vaccine to the U.S., U.K. and Europe and is working with global alliances to ensure equitable access elsewhere.
