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AstraZeneca (AZN) Stock Up 3%, Firm Teams Up with Oxford University on Coronavirus Vaccine

British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN) and Oxford University have partnered to develop a vaccine for the ravaging coronavirus. With AstraZeneca’s effort towards developing a vaccine, AZN stock is rising by 3.45% and at press time it is trading at $52.45.

The partnership between the pharmaceutical firm and the university is necessary to defeat the novel virus as Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive Officer, said that the need to develop a vaccine to overcome the virus is urgent.

Also, Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said in an interview that the agreement was necessary to see maybe they can get the vaccine both to work and manufactured and distributed to the U.K. and globally.

However, the human trial of the said vaccine began already last week, making it the first COVID-19 vaccine to be tested on humans in Europe. But then, scientists have made it known that it would take not lesser than one year to develop a vaccine for the virus successfully.

The pharmaceutical firm aims to be able to produce 100million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year. It is worthy of mention that AstraZeneca pharmaceutical is part of the firms around the world racing with the American government to make shots available in the country by year-end.

The continuing effect of the coronavirus in the world, shutting down businesses and slowing economy, makes the urge for a vaccine more in demand.

Countries around the globe are working to get workers back to work and restart their economy, Oxford, alongside AstraZeneca partnership, bring hope in this regard. In the U.K. already, several thousand have been lost to coronavirus as the country remains locked down.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Coronavirus Vaccine

As the vaccine trial began last week, late-stage trials could be held by mid-year. This is, no doubt, one of the most advanced vaccine projects. AstraZeneca said that it would join in the development as well as manufacture and distribute the product.

Oxford’s Sarah Gilbert heads the team that developed the vaccine. The vaccine is part of the 70 projects being prepared against the Sars-CoV-2. With the rising number of cases, pressure continues to deepen for a vaccine.

Reportedly, U.S. President Donald Trump‘s “Operation Warp Speed” program will align pharmaceutical firms, government agencies, and the military to work together to bring down the amount of time needed to get a vaccine ready by about eight months.

AstraZeneca (AZN) Stock Up 3%, Firm Teams Up with Oxford University on Coronavirus Vaccine