AstraZeneca shares drop after company announces ‘routine’ safety pause in coronavirus vaccine trial – By Berkeley Lovelace Jr. (CNBC) / Sept 8 2020
- AstraZeneca shares were lower in premarket trading after the company said Tuesday its late-stage trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine had been put on hold due to safety concerns.
- “This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” the company said in a statement to CNBC.
- AstraZeneca began its trial late last month and is one of three companies currently in late-stage testing for a potential vaccine. The other two are Pfizer and Moderna, which both began their trials in late July.
AstraZeneca shares were lower in premarket trading after the company on Tuesday said its late-stage trial for a potential coronavirus vaccine had been put on hold due to safety concerns.
Shares of the drugmaker were down about 2% ahead of the opening bell Wednesday.
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials. In large trials illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully,” the company said in a statement to CNBC.
It said it was trying to expedite the review to “minimize any potential impact on the trial timeline.”
Continue to article: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/08/astrazeneca-shares-fall-after-coronavirus-vaccine-study-is-put-on-hold.html
