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AstraZeneca (AZN) COVID-19 Shot Faces Doubts Over Blood Clots
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Many European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, have temporarily paused vaccinations with AstraZeneca’s (AZN - Free Report) COVID-19 jab following some reports of blood clots in people who had received the shot.
The European Medicines Agency’s (“EMA”) safety committee is investigating the thromboembolic/blood clot events related to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The EMA believes that the benefits of AstraZeneca’s vaccine continue to outweigh the risks of side effects.
In a latest update on the issue, the EMA said that the several thousands of people in the EU develop blood clots annually for different reasons. The EMA argued that the number of blood clot events in the vaccinated people was not higher than that seen in the general population. The EMA will continue to investigate whether the vaccine was the cause of the blood clot events or if these were due to other reasons.
The EMA will conduct an extraordinary meeting on Thursday Mar 18 to conclude the issue and decide on the actions that need to be taken.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is also reviewing the reports and working closely with EMA on the issue.
Earlier this week, AstraZeneca defended the safety profile of the vaccine with scientific evidence. The company stated that safety data from more than 17 million vaccinated people found no evidence of increase in risk of various forms of blood clots — pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia in patients receiving the vaccine. The company argued that the cases of blood clot events are insignificant in comparison to the total vaccinated population. Also, in clinical studies, there were few thrombotic events, and these too were lower in the vaccinated group.
We remind investors that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was, on an average, about 70% effective in preventing COVID-19.
The company’s shares have risen 0.1% this year so far against the industry’s decline of 0.6%.
Reportedly, AstraZeneca is also facing supply shortages of the vaccine to different member countries of the European Union due to difficulties with international supply chains.
All these issues place AstraZeneca at a disadvantageous position in the COVID-19 vaccine market. Other approved coronavirus vaccines from pharma companies are marketed by Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) , Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) and J&J (JNJ - Free Report) . While Pfizer and Moderna have already started supplying doses of their respective vaccines in Europe, J&J plans to start supply of its vaccine to Europe in the second half of April. Moreover, AstraZeneca is yet to receive emergency approval for its vaccine in the United States.
In a separate press release, AstraZeneca announced a deal to supply the U.S. government with up to 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442, its investigational cocktail antibody therapy, in late-stage development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. AZD7442 is a combo of two monoclonal antibodies, AZD8895 and AZD1061.
We remind investors that in October, AstraZeneca got a funding support of almost $486 million from the U.S. government for development of AZD7442 and signed a deal to supply up to 100,000 doses to the government. Meanwhile, it has a separate agreement to supply the Department of Defense with 100,000 doses, bringing potential U.S. supplies of AZD7442 to 700,000 in 2021.
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AstraZeneca (AZN) COVID-19 Shot Faces Doubts Over Blood Clots
Many European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, have temporarily paused vaccinations with AstraZeneca’s (AZN - Free Report) COVID-19 jab following some reports of blood clots in people who had received the shot.
The European Medicines Agency’s (“EMA”) safety committee is investigating the thromboembolic/blood clot events related to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The EMA believes that the benefits of AstraZeneca’s vaccine continue to outweigh the risks of side effects.
In a latest update on the issue, the EMA said that the several thousands of people in the EU develop blood clots annually for different reasons. The EMA argued that the number of blood clot events in the vaccinated people was not higher than that seen in the general population. The EMA will continue to investigate whether the vaccine was the cause of the blood clot events or if these were due to other reasons.
The EMA will conduct an extraordinary meeting on Thursday Mar 18 to conclude the issue and decide on the actions that need to be taken.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is also reviewing the reports and working closely with EMA on the issue.
Earlier this week, AstraZeneca defended the safety profile of the vaccine with scientific evidence. The company stated that safety data from more than 17 million vaccinated people found no evidence of increase in risk of various forms of blood clots — pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia in patients receiving the vaccine. The company argued that the cases of blood clot events are insignificant in comparison to the total vaccinated population. Also, in clinical studies, there were few thrombotic events, and these too were lower in the vaccinated group.
We remind investors that AstraZeneca’s vaccine was, on an average, about 70% effective in preventing COVID-19.
The company’s shares have risen 0.1% this year so far against the industry’s decline of 0.6%.
Reportedly, AstraZeneca is also facing supply shortages of the vaccine to different member countries of the European Union due to difficulties with international supply chains.
All these issues place AstraZeneca at a disadvantageous position in the COVID-19 vaccine market. Other approved coronavirus vaccines from pharma companies are marketed by Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) , Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) and J&J (JNJ - Free Report) . While Pfizer and Moderna have already started supplying doses of their respective vaccines in Europe, J&J plans to start supply of its vaccine to Europe in the second half of April. Moreover, AstraZeneca is yet to receive emergency approval for its vaccine in the United States.
In a separate press release, AstraZeneca announced a deal to supply the U.S. government with up to 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442, its investigational cocktail antibody therapy, in late-stage development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. AZD7442 is a combo of two monoclonal antibodies, AZD8895 and AZD1061.
We remind investors that in October, AstraZeneca got a funding support of almost $486 million from the U.S. government for development of AZD7442 and signed a deal to supply up to 100,000 doses to the government. Meanwhile, it has a separate agreement to supply the Department of Defense with 100,000 doses, bringing potential U.S. supplies of AZD7442 to 700,000 in 2021.
AstraZeneca currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
+1,500% Growth: One of 2021’s Most Exciting Investment Opportunities
In addition to the stocks you read about above, would you like to see Zacks’ top picks to capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is one of the fastest-growing technologies in history, with an estimated 77 billion devices to be connected by 2025. That works out to 127 new devices per second.
Zacks has released a special report to help you capitalize on the Internet of Things’s exponential growth. It reveals 4 under-the-radar stocks that could be some of the most profitable holdings in your portfolio in 2021 and beyond.
Click here to download this report FREE >>