AZN Stock Slightly Down, AstraZeneca Vaccine Receives Criticism in US

UTC by Steve Muchoki · 3 min read
AZN Stock Slightly Down, AstraZeneca Vaccine Receives Criticism in US
Photo: Depositphotos

On Thursday AstraZeneca said it would undertake a new global vaccine trial using the lower-dose regimen. 

AstraZeneca Plc (LON: AZN) stocks closed November 26, 17:08 GMT trading at 7,748.00 GBX, 0.67% down from the day’s open value. At the time of writing, the stock is trading at 7,729.00 GBX (-0.25%). AstraZeneca (AZN) and the University of Oxford have been developing a coronavirus vaccine candidate that has received a fair share of criticism over its efficacy.

Although AstraZeneca stocks have added approximately 3.31% and 1.85% in the past one year and year to date respectively, things have been different in the past three months. According to data provided by marketwatch, AstraZeneca shares have dropped approximately 7.95% in the last three months, and have slipped 1.63% and 4.64% in the past one month and five days respectively.

As the globally reported coronavirus cases top 61 million people, and 1.4 million fatalities, pharmaceutical companies are working round the clock to develop the most effective drug and vaccine. Notably, the majority of coronavirus infected people have managed to recover without the vaccines, approximately 42 million people.

The company has a market valuation of approximately £102.36 billion, with 1.31 billion outstanding shares. In the past 52 weeks, AstraZeneca shares have ranged between 5,871.00 and 10,120.00. Being a multinational company, its coronavirus vaccine candidate has been put under scrutiny by different governmental agencies. Hereby making its stocks impacted by different fundamentals from all over the world.

Updates on AstraZeneca (AZN) Vaccine Candidate

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford recently released the official data for their phase three vaccine trials. Based on the results of the vaccine trials, different government agencies have different opinions on them.

Notably, the results received harsh criticism from health experts in the United States. Apparently, Chief of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, expressed concerns over the age group tested and the results provided. Slaoui states that the 90% efficacy reported by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford came from a group with the lowest risk.

More criticism from the United States came from SVB Leerink bank, a health care and biotech investment bank. One of its analysts wrote on Monday:

“We believe that this product will never be licensed in the US.”

The analysis further explained that AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine candidate trials does not meet FDA’s “requirements for representation of minorities, severe cases, previously infected individuals and elderly and other increased risk populations.”

However, the company through its spokesperson indicated that more trials and analysis is being conducted to improve on the vaccine’s efficacy. On Thursday AstraZeneca said it would undertake a new global trial using the lower-dose regimen. However, this does not hinder the UK government from approving the vaccine and has already ordered 100 million doses.

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