AstraZeneca Says Coronavirus Vaccine Shows Increased Response on Third Dose

By Joe Hoppe

AstraZeneca PLC said Thursday that new preliminary data shows its Vaxzevria coronavirus vaccine showed increased antibody response against several coronavirus variants after a third dose, or booster.

The pharmaceutical giant said that the positive results come from a safety and immunogenicity trial, which showed the drug increased immune responses against the Beta, Delta, Alpha and Gamma variants of the virus, and was generally well tolerated. A separate analysis of samples from the trial showed increased antibody response to the Omicron variant as well, the company said.

The results came from individuals previously vaccinated with Vaxzevria or an mRNA vaccine. However, AstraZeneca said that a separate Phase 4 trial showed a third dose of Vaxzevria substantially increased antibody levels in individuals that were primarily vaccinated with Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s vaccine CoronaVac, which it said adds to growing evidence Vaxzevria can be used as a booster regardless of primary vaccinations.

"Given the ongoing urgency of the pandemic and Vaxzevria's increased immune response to the Omicron variant, we will continue to progress regulatory submissions around the world for its use as a third-dose booster," Mene Pangalos, biopharmaceuticals research and development executive vice president said.

Write to Joe Hoppe at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2022 02:41 ET (07:41 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.