Early-stage trial data of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be out by July 20

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Early-stage human trial data on a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University will be published on July 20, Reuters said quoting Lancet medical journal. The Oxford vaccine candidate is already in large-scale Phase III human trials in Brazil to assess whether it can protect against COVID-19, but its developers have yet to report Phase I results.

"We expect this paper, which is undergoing final editing and preparation, to be published on Monday, July 20, for immediate release," Reuters quoted a spokeswoman for the journal as saying. The Lancet's statement came after reports said that the Phase I data could be released as soon Thursday.

Developers of the Oxford vaccine, known as known as AZD1222, said earlier this month they were encouraged by the immune response they had seen in trials so far and were expecting to publish Phase 1 data by the end of July.

More than 100 vaccines are being developed and tested around the world to try to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected over 1.35 crore people and claimed over 5.8 lakh lives.

Researchers in the United States reported on Tuesday that Moderna Inc's experimental vaccine showed it was safe and provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study. Moderna expects to start a Phase III trial on July 27.

Meanwhile, in India, pharmaceutical giant Zydus Cadila has initiated the phase 1, 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of coronavirus vaccine candidate by intradermal (injection) route in 1,048 subjects after the pharma company got approval from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) earlier this month.

According to the Clinical Trial Registry- India (CTRI), the clinical study is based on two criteria -- inclusion and exclusion. The inclusion criteria is divided into two phases. In phase 1, the company has selected healthy males and females (non-pregnant and non-lactating) between 18-55 years of age. For phase 2, healthy volunteers of either gender aged 12 or above will be selected.

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