A new experimental vaccine has demonstrated 89 per cent efficacy against coronavirus, according to its manufacturer Novavax.
It was shown to be 89.3 per cent effective at preventing coronavirus in participants in its Phase 3 clinical trial in the UK, which involved more than 15,000 people aged between 18-84, of which 27 per cent were older than 65, Novavax said.
The new vaccine is called NVX-CoV2373. The UK has secured access to 60 million doses of the vaccine – to be produced on Teesside.
The manufacturer also said the vaccine showed less than 50 per cent effective against the worrying new variant called 501Y.V2, which was detected in South Africa and is spreading around the world.
Professor Paul Heath, who led the trial for the vaccine, has said vaccines could be adapted with such speed that scientists should be able to “get ahead” of new strains of coronavirus.
“NVX-CoV2373 is the first vaccine to demonstrate not only high clinical efficacy against Covid-19 but also significant clinical efficacy against both the rapidly emerging UK and South Africa variants,” said Stanley Erck, the biotechnology firm’s president and chief executive.
The trial was carried out in conjunction with the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce, with its chairman Clive Dix saying in a statement: “These are spectacular results, and we are very pleased to have helped Novavax with the development of this vaccine.
“The efficacy shown against the emerging variants is also extremely encouraging. This is an incredible achievement that will ensure we can protect individuals in the UK and the rest of the world from this virus.”
The vaccine will now be assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed, as he thanked volunteers who made the results possible.
Good news that the @Novavax vaccine has proved effective in UK trials. Thank you to all the volunteers who made these results possible.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 28, 2021
Our medicines regulator will now assess the vaccine, which will be made in Teesside. If approved, we have 60m doses on order.
Stan Erck, chief executive of Novavax, told the BBC the manufacturing plant in Stockton-on-Tees should be up and running by March or April, with the company hoping to get approval for the vaccine from the MHRA around the same time.
If it gets a nod, Novavax will be the fourth vaccine to get approval in the UK. Two vaccines have already been rolled out in the UK – from Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca – while a third from Moderna has been approved for use.
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