AstraZeneca CEO says coronavirus vaccine could be ready in December
- If regulatory authorities are fast when we are ready, we can start vaccinating people possibly at the end of December, Pascal Soriot says
- The drug maker’s vaccine entered phase 3 trials in September
“Regulatory authorities are working continuously with our data. If they are fast when we are ready, we can start vaccinating people in January, possibly at the end of December,” chief executive Pascal Soriot was quoted as saying by Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter on Saturday.
The Anglo-Swedish drug maker is working with Oxford University in Britain to manufacture a possible coronavirus vaccine, tapped as one of the most promising in the race to find a cure for the pandemic.
“Perhaps we will never earn money from it [the vaccine], no one knows how often you'll need to vaccinate,” Soriot said. “If the vaccine is very effective and protects people for many years, and the disease disappears, then there is no market.”
Soriot noted that many experts, however, believe there will be need for revaccinations. “If that has to be done annually we can earn money off it from 2022.”
“But we have to ascertain that the vaccine really works,” he said.
