AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine generates immune response in both old and young participants

pharmafile | October 26, 2020 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |  AstraZeneca, COVID-19, University of Oxford, Vaccine 

AstraZeneca’s much-hyped COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222, currently in development in partnership with the University of Oxford, has shown promising immune potential across a wide range of evaluated participants.

The new data revealed that the candidate generated a comparable immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus among both young and elderly recipients – a key finding when considering that the immune system weakens with age. 

The results were in-line with promising findings released in July earlier this year in which the vaccine was shown to produce “robust immune responses” in treatment-naïve patients between 18 and 55 years old.

Combined with this latest data, it’s suggested that the therapy would successfully inoculate those who are most vulnerable to infection and mortality from the virus. 

“It is encouraging to see immunogenicity responses were similar between older and younger adults and that reactogenicity was lower in older adults, where the COVID-19 disease severity is higher,” a spokesperson for AstraZeneca told news outlets. “The results further build the body of evidence for the safety and immunogenicity of AZD1222.”

The findings are soon to be published, but the specific clinical publication was not confirmed. The news gives hope to the vaccine securing regulatory approval before the year is out. AZ CEO Pascal Soriot suggested earlier in the year that as much may be possible, and has also suggested that immunity conveyed by the therapy could last for about a year.

Matt Fellows