AstraZeneca shares were lower in premarket trading after the company on Tuesday said its late-stage trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine had been put on hold due to safety concerns. CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reports. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO:
AstraZeneca shares were lower in premarket trading after the company on Tuesday said its late-stage trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine had been put on hold due to safety concerns.
Shares of the drugmaker were down about 2% ahead of the opening bell Wednesday.
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials. In large trials illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully,” the company said in a statement to CNBC.
It said it was trying to expedite the review to “minimize any potential impact on the trial timeline.”
“We are committed to the safety of our participants and the highest standards of conduct in our trials,” the company said.
A person familiar with the development said researchers were told the hold was placed on the trial out of “an abundance of caution” after a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the United Kingdom, according to STAT News.
It’s unclear how long the hold on the trial will last. AstraZeneca began its trial late last month and is one of three companies currently in late-stage testing for a potential vaccine. The other two are Pfizer and Moderna, which both began their trials in late July.
The U.S. government announced May 21 that it would pay AstraZeneca up to $1.2 billion for its experimental vaccine developed alongside researchers at the University of Oxford. The U.S. will receive at least 300 million doses of the vaccine as part of its investment.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine, called AZD1222, uses genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus. It uses technologies that were used to make an experimental Ebola vaccine, which was provided to people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2019.
In July, the company published data that showed its vaccine produced a promising immune response in an early-stage trial.
» Subscribe to CNBC TV:
» Subscribe to CNBC:
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic:
Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news:
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn:
Follow CNBC News on Facebook:
Follow CNBC News on Twitter:
Follow CNBC News on Instagram:
For info on the best credit cards go to CNBC Select:
#CNBC
#CNBCTV
