(Reuters) – German biotechnology BioNTech and US drug manufacturer Pfizer Inc said Monday that knowledge of an initial trial of their experimental coronavirus vaccine showed that it caused an immune reaction and was well tolerated, similar to the effects of early previous tests.
In the study conducted in Germany on 60 healthy volunteers, the vaccine induced virus-neutralizing antibodies in those given two doses, in-line with previous results from an early-stage U.S. trial.
BioNtech’s U.S. shares rose five percent, while Pfizer’s shares rose to $36.44.
As a component of accelerated progression plans, corporations said they planned to start a test late this month with up to 30,000 subjects to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vaccine.
An effective vaccine opposed to the new coronavirus is considered essential to end a pandemic that is still at its peak and has claimed more than 600,000 lives worldwide.
In the German study, the vaccine also generated a high level of T cell responses against the coronavirus. T cells, a type of white blood cell, are an important component of the immune system’s attack against foreign invaders, such as viruses.
“Today’s knowledge comes with the first evidence that the vaccine generates a T-cell response, which can be critical for patients to expand lasting immunity against the new coronavirus,” said Vamil Divan, an analyst at Mizuho.
Trial subjects showed no serious side effects of the vaccine, some reported flu-like symptoms and reactions at the injection site.
The effects occur when separate effects were launched monday for two coVID-19 experimental vaccines.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed with researchers from the University of Oxford, was found to have produced an immune reaction in early clinical trials. Another vaccine developed through CanSino Biologics Inc and the Chinese Army studies unit also appears to be and induces immune reactions in the maximum receptors.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 150 potential vaccines opposed to coronaviruses are in stages of progression worldwide, with 23 applicants already being tested in humans.
Separately, on Monday, Britain signed agreements to guarantee 30 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, as well as for other doses of the French organization Valneva.
Reporting through Manas Mishra and Ankur Banerjeee in Bangalore; Edited through Sriraj Kalluvila, Lewis Krauskopf and Bill Berkrot
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