AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials resume in UK

AstraZeneca on Saturday said it has resumed coronavirus vaccine clinical trials after getting a nod from the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA).

"Clinical trials for the AstraZeneca Oxford coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, have resumed in the UK following confirmation by the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that it was safe to do so," the company said in a statement.

The committee "has concluded its investigations and recommended to the MHRA that trials in the UK are safe to resume", AstraZeneca also said.

Earlier this week, AstraZeneca had "voluntarily paused" a randomised clinical trial of its AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine, which is considered as the frontrunner in the global race for an effective coronavirus vaccine.

The British-Swedish company, which is developing the vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford, has temporarily halted phase 3 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a study participant developed severe adverse reactions.

Commenting on the development, AstraZeneca spokesperson had said that this is a routine action which is taken whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials.

The spokesperson added that the company is working to expedite the review of the single event to minimise any potential impact on the trial timeline. The company is committed to the safety of its participants and the highest standards of conduct in its trials.

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