AstraZeneca, Oxford Univ tests Covid booster shots against Beta-variant - Business Standard

British-Swedish biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has in partnership with the University of Oxford rolled out human trials for booster shots against Beta Covid variant

Topics
Coronavirus Vaccine | AstraZeneca | Oxford University

IANS  |  London 

Last Updated at June 28, 2021 13:18 IST

British-Swedish biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has in partnership with the University of Oxford rolled out human trials for booster shots against Beta Covid variant.

The booster shot, named AZD2816, will be administered to individuals who have previously been fully vaccinated with two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine/Vaxzervia or an mRNA vaccine, at least three months after their last injection.

In non-vaccinated individuals, AZD2816 will be given as two doses, four or twelve weeks apart, or given as a second dose following a first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine/Vaxzervia --four weeks apart, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

AZD2816 has been designed using the same adenoviral vector platform as AstraZeneca vaccine/ Vaxzervia, with minor genetic alterations to the spike protein based on the Beta (B1351) variant, first identified in South Africa.

The study aims to enroll 2,250 participants from the UK, South Africa, Brazil and Poland to build immunity against the Beta Covid variant.

"Testing booster doses of existing vaccines and new variant vaccines is important to ensure we are best prepared to stay ahead of the pandemic coronavirus, should their use be needed," said Professor Sir Andrew J. Pollard, chief investigator and director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, in the statement.

Initial data from the trial is expected later this year and, once available, will be submitted to regulators for assessment as a next-generation booster vaccine and through an expedited regulatory pathway, the company said.

"The Beta variant vaccine contains 10 changes across the spike protein, many of which are also seen in other variants of concern, and which lead to effects such as, reduced ability of antibodies induced against the original virus to block cell entry (K417N, E484K, N501Y), increased infectivity compared to the original virus (D614G); reduced sensitivity of neutralising antibodies to the original virus (L452R)," the company said.

Besides these minor modifications, the two AZD2816 and AstraZeneca vaccine/ Vaxzervia vaccines are the same, it noted.

In May, the UK launched a clinical trial that aimed to assess the efficacy of a third 'booster' dose of seven different Covid-19 vaccines -- Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, Valneva, Janssen and Curevac -- on patients immune responses.

It costs 19.3 million pound and is being funded by the UK government and led by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that there is currently no data to support that a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot is needed for the general population. But, an extra dose may be needed for more-vulnerable groups, such as older adults or organ transplant patients.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are investigating a third dose of Covid vaccine, while Johnson & Johnson is studying the need for a second dose to raise protection against the virus, the report said.

The US NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, or NIAID, is also conducting a clinical trial to understand whether a third shot of a Moderna vaccine could be given after a person initially received two shots of Pfizer, or one shot of Johnson & Johnson, the report added.

--IANS

rvt/in

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor

First Published: Mon, June 28 2021. 13:18 IST

The Link Lonk


June 28, 2021 at 02:48PM
https://ift.tt/3hb73nh

AstraZeneca, Oxford Univ tests Covid booster shots against Beta-variant - Business Standard

https://ift.tt/2DVP6sH