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By Kanishka Singh
Nov 1 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc said on Sunday
Britain's health regulator had started an accelerated review of
its potential coronavirus vaccine.
"We confirm the MHRA's (Medicines and Healthcare Products
Regulatory Agency) rolling review of our potential COVID-19
vaccine," an AstraZeneca spokesman said.
In rolling reviews, regulators are able to see clinical data
in real time and have dialogue with drug makers on manufacturing
processes and trials to accelerate the approval process.
The approach is designed to speed up evaluations of
promising drugs or vaccines during a public health emergency.
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is being developed along with
the University of Oxford. Bloomberg reported on Friday that MHRA
had also begun an accelerated review for the COVID-19 vaccine
candidate from Pfizer Inc.
AstraZeneca and Pfizer are among the frontrunners in the
race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, with the race
also including Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc
. Their vaccine candidates are in late-stage trials,
interim data from which are expected in the coming weeks.
The British drug maker said on Monday its COVID-19
experimental vaccine produces an immune response in both old and
young adults. The vaccine also triggers lower adverse responses
among the elderly, it said.
The novel coronavirus has killed more than 1.19 million
people globally, damaged the world economy and turned normal
life upside down for billions of people.
Work began on the Oxford vaccine in January. Called AZD1222
or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the viral vector vaccine is made from a
weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections
in chimpanzees.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Angus
MacSwan)
