Reuters news agency reported on Friday that Britain, on 27 November 2020, has asked Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), its medicine regulator, to assess Oxford University and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine candidate for temporary supply, a step towards beginning a roll-out before the end of the year.
British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc (LON: AZN) expects four million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to be available in Britain by the end of next month.
UK health minister Matt Hancock is reportedly targeting the roll-out to begin before Christmas.
In a statement, Hancock was quoted as saying: "We have formally asked the regulator to assess the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, to understand the data and determine whether it meets rigorous safety standards. This letter is an important step towards deploying a vaccine as quickly and safely possible."
Reportedly, MHRA is already assessing the vaccine in a "rolling review" as data comes in on safety and efficacy.
Hancock has also asked the MHRA to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech candidate after it was shown to be 95% effective.
Oxford and AstraZeneca published interim efficacy results on 23 November 2020, which showed that the vaccine could be 90% effective when given as a half dose followed by a full dose.
Questions have been raised about the Oxford/AstraZeneca data and the robustness of that result, though the MHRA approved the use of the half-dose/full-dose regime a subgroup received in the trial.
Britain's top science adviser said on 26 November 2020 that the interim results showed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine worked, Reuters added.
Merck launches Phase 3 trial for dengue vaccine candidate V181
BioNet and Bio Farma sign MoU on TdaP vaccine
Dx&Vx accelerates universal COVID-19 vaccine development
Moderna withdraws application for flu-COVID combination vaccine pending additional efficacy data
CTP delivers 18,000 sqm Serbian facility for SCHOTT Pharma to support global expansion
LakeShore Biopharma launches novel packaging solution for YSJA rabies vaccine (Vero cell)
Scancell partners with NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad to accelerate melanoma trial recruitment
Orexo reports positive results for powder-based intranasal vaccine using AmorphOX technology
GC Biopharma's BARYTHRAX receives Korean regulatory approval
GSK grants USD2m to boost adult vaccination efforts
Valneva and LimmaTech begin Phase 2 infant trial for Shigella vaccine candidate S4V2
Circio Holding and Entos Pharmaceuticals collaborate on circular RNA delivery
AKAGERA Medicines completes first cohort in phase 1 SAD/MAD study of AKG-100