When Will COVID Vaccine Data Come Out? AstraZeneca Offers Update

British drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZN) is on track to deliver COVID-19 vaccine data to U.S. regulators this year.

AstraZeneca announced the key development along with the release of Q3 earnings report Thursday. The data is expected to propel the vaccine’s approval from the Food and Drug Administration forward.

The vaccine (AZD1222), being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, is in late-stage clinical trials with about 23,000 patients in the U.K., Brazil, South Africa, and the U.S.

“Results from late-stage trials are anticipated later this year, depending on the rate of infection within the communities where the clinical trials are being conducted," Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement. "Data readouts will be submitted to regulators and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.”

Soriot added the company was launching Phase III trials for an antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients with weaker immune systems who might benefit less from a vaccine.

He said AstraZeneca is making “encouraging headway” -- in both in research and revenues -- despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the third quarter, the drugmaker saw total revenue grow by 3% to $6.5 billion, and global product sales increase by 6% to $6.52 billion year-over-year.

In late October, AstraZeneca reported the vaccine was producing similar immune responses in both younger and older patients, CNBC reported. The news came after trials in the U.S and the U.K. were paused over unexplained illnesses in two participants that were later found to be unrelated to the vaccine.

AstraZeneca is behind on the project, missing target dates for the U.K. to deliver 30 million doses by September as part of a deal for 100 million doses.

Based on the earnings report, shares of AstraZeneca were trading at $56.09 as of premarket open, up $1.05 or 1.91%.