Volunteer in AstraZeneca/Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Dies in Brazil -- Update
October 21 2020 - 4:55PM
Dow Jones News
By Luciana Magalhaes and Samantha Pearson
SÃO PAULO -- Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said clinical
trials in the country for the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by
Oxford University and AstraZeneca would continue despite the death
of one of the volunteers.
Oxford University said it had carried out a "careful assessment"
of the case in Brazil and that "there have been no concerns about
safety of the clinical trial."
AstraZeneca said in a statement that an independent assessment
of the case didn't present "any concerns."
Brazil's Anvisa announced earlier Wednesday that it had been
notified of the death on Monday and was investigating. It didn't
give any information about the identity of the volunteer, or
whether the person had taken a placebo dose or a real dose of the
vaccine. Brazilian press reported that the volunteer was a
28-year-old man from Rio de Janeiro, who had died of complications
from Covid-19.
"The fact that the trials were not suspended could indicate that
the person took a placebo dose," said Carlos Fortaleza, an
epidemiologist at São Paulo State University.
AstraZeneca's shares dropped as much as 1.7% but later pared
back losses.
Brazil's federal government has set aside over $350 million to
purchase the Oxford University vaccine, which will be produced and
distributed by the country's Fiocruz scientific institution based
in Rio. São Paulo is also developing another vaccine in partnership
with Sinovac, a private Chinese company.
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@wsj.com and
Samantha Pearson at samantha.pearson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 21, 2020 16:40 ET (20:40 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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