(VOVWORLD) - Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it has paused a randomized clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
 AstraZeneca's headquarters in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the UK. (Photo: VNA) |
The vaccine, called AZD1222, is a front-runner in the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine. The company said it will allow a review of safety data by an independent committee and will preserve all test results it has obtained so far with this vaccine.
AstraZeneca is developing a vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford. It is in late-stage Phase 3 trials with 30,000 volunteers. It has generated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants with few safety concerns indicated.
The company had planned to continue its trials next year and seek approval in the third quarter of this year.