AstraZeneca rallies as Trump said to consider fast-tracking Covid vaccine

AstraZeneca shares rallied on Monday after it emerged that US President Donald Trump is considering fast-tracking an experimental Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the pharmaceuticals giant and Oxford University.

The Financial Times cited three people briefed on the plan as saying that one option being considered involves the US Food and Drug Administration awarding the vaccine ‘emergency use authorisation’ (EUA) in October, based on the results from a relatively small UK study if it is successful.

The AstraZeneca study falls short of the number of participants required for FDA approval. The company has enrolled 10,000 volunteers, whereas the US government’s scientific agencies have said a vaccine would need to be studied in 30,000 people to pass the threshold for authorisation.

In July, AstraZeneca said that the vaccine had produced a "strong immune response" in Phase I/II trial results.

At 1155 BST, the shares were up 3.9% at 8,762.54p.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Mr Trump will be contesting the US presidential election in November so he is keen to get a grip on the health crisis. The drug in question still has a long way to go in terms of development, but the bulls have jumped on the story."