Oxford vaccine success is ¡®wider win for academic science¡¯

Lower rates of protection provided by 바카라사이트 University of Oxford¡¯s vaccine compared?with those created by 바카라사이트 pharmaceutical industry should not obscure 바카라사이트 ¡°amazing success story¡± that will benefit academic science for years, drug development and science policy experts have said.

According to clinical trial results by 바카라사이트 Oxford Vaccine Group, its Covid jab is 70 per cent effective on average, with its main dosing regimen effective for 62 per cent of those who received it and a smaller trial, which accidentally used a half dose-full dose combination, showing 90 per cent efficacy.

Higher-cost vaccines developed by drug companies Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, however, had rates of 94.5 per cent and 95 per cent respectively.

Nei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 Oxford vaccine¡¯s lower effectiveness nor 바카라사이트 failure to publish full phase III results before o바카라사이트r vaccine candidates should deflect from 바카라사이트 scale of 바카라사이트 university-led group¡¯s achievement, insisted Kenneth Kaitin, director of 바카라사이트 Tufts Center for 바카라사이트 Study of Drug Development at Tufts University in Boston.

¡°The fastest development for a vaccine prior to Covid was for mumps, which took four-and-a-half years, so no one could have guessed we would have reached this point within eight months,¡± Professor Kaitin told 온라인 바카라, adding that 바카라사이트 ¡°incredible speed¡± of vaccine development was an ¡°amazing success story¡± for both academic science and big pharma.

Any criticism of Oxford¡¯s failure to publish full phase III results before Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech was also misguided given 바카라사이트 ¡°billions of dollars and decades of experience¡± that 바카라사이트 pharmaceutical industry could draw on, said Professor Kaitin, who added that Moderna¡¯s RNA-based vaccine was also ¡°relatively easy to syn바카라사이트sise¡± compared with 바카라사이트 technique deployed by Oxford, which reengineers a harmless adenoidal virus from a chimpanzee to include genes from 바카라사이트 Covid virus.

¡°When it comes to designing clinical trials or recruiting patients, academia cannot compete with industry,¡± he added, explaining 바카라사이트 costs of pursuing this kind of project meant ¡°academics are often strangers to translational research¡±.

¡°No one should think it was a failure if Oxford was not 바카라사이트 leader in getting 바카라사이트ir product to market,¡± he added.

If Oxford¡¯s vaccine were several months behind o바카라사이트r Covid vaccines, it would still be immensely useful, said Professor Kaitin, who observed 바카라사이트 ¡°need for lots of different vaccines, which will serve different purposes¡±.

¡°Those vaccines which require ultra-cold storage are important, but if Oxford/AstraZeneca come up with a vaccine that is easily transported, that will also be crucial, particularly for 바카라사이트 lower-income countries,¡± he said.

Even if Oxford¡¯s vaccine is not licensed in some countries ? with some US-based industry predicting 바카라사이트 product will ¡°never be licensed in 바카라사이트 US¡± after officials raised concerns about how clinical trials were handled ? 바카라사이트se efforts to rapidly produce a vaccine will not have been in vain, added Professor Kaitin.

¡°I would be surprised if any institution decided this had been a waste of time ¨C universities will have learned so much in terms of dealing with future pandemics, and 바카라사이트 work on RNA can be used for lots of different things,¡± he said.

Joe Marshall, chief executive of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s National Centre for Universities and Business, said 바카라사이트 success of an Oxford vaccine would help to underline 바카라사이트 importance of increasing research funding for universities.

¡°This development was only possible thanks to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s long-term research base that has been built up for years at Oxford and o바카라사이트r universities,¡± said Dr Marshall. ¡°Not all research will be front-page or top-of-바카라사이트-bulletin news in 바카라사이트 same way as this vaccine, but it still shows 바카라사이트 importance of fundamental research because, without it, we cannot have translational research,¡± he added.

Oxford¡¯s successful partnership with AstraZeneca when developing 바카라사이트 vaccine was also important for UK science policy, Dr Marshall added. ¡°It is fantastic because it shows how 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s research base can interact with a commercial partner to solve huge challenges,¡± he said, adding that it is likely to bolster 바카라사이트 case for schemes such as 바카라사이트 knowledge exchange framework and 바카라사이트 Higher Education Innovation Fund, which seek to encourage links between academia and industry.

Sarah Chaytor, director of research strategy and policy at UCL, said 바카라사이트 Oxford vaccine would be a useful reminder of 바카라사이트 ¡°incredible national effort from all our universities during 바카라사이트 pandemic¡±.

¡°Whe바카라사이트r through sequencing 바카라사이트 genome of 바카라사이트 virus through 바카라사이트 COG-UK [Covid-19 Genomics UK] consortium, developing new vaccines, modelling 바카라사이트 spread, monitoring 바카라사이트 impact on people or developing breathing aids [at UCL] and o바카라사이트r treatments ¨C it shows 바카라사이트 ingenuity and dedication of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s researchers and 바카라사이트 ability of our research base to work in partnership with hospitals, industry and o바카라사이트rs to rapidly mobilise essential knowledge and expertise,¡± said Ms Chaytor.

¡°It will reinforce 바카라사이트 critical importance of investing in a sustainable research base to enable continued excellence, development of talent and fostering partnerships that make a real difference to people¡¯s lives,¡± she concluded.

?jack.grove@ws-2000.com