AstraZeneca Gets Chile, Peru Nod To Resume COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

AstraZeneca plc AZN has received the regulatory nod to conduct clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine in Chile and Peru, Reuters reported Wednesday.

What Happened: Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera said that his nation’s health regulator had approved the British company’s vaccine trial, according to Reuters.

According to Pinera, the clinical trial of Johnson & Johnson JNJ COVID-19 vaccine candidate is already underway and the doses of Sinovac’s vaccine arrived in the country on Wednesday.

Peru announced that trials of Johnson and Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines would begin next week, according to Reuters. The country had withdrawn a deal to purchase AstraZeneca’s vaccine two weeks ago as the company did not provide data on its vaccine studies.
Why It Matters: Pinera also disclosed that Chile had signed up for 7.6 million doses of vaccine through the World Health Organization-led COVAX initiative.

The World Bank is supporting COVAX and WHO’s efforts and has pledged $12 billion in financing for developing countries to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

The United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca already has deals for the production and supply of its COVID-19 vaccine with multiple Latin American countries.

Price Action: AstraZeneca shares closed nearly 6.5% higher at $55.04 on Wednesday and gained 0.11% in the after-hours session.