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(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca said Tuesday it has started Phase 1 clinical trial of a monoclonal antibody combination for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19, with the first participants dosed to assess the tolerability of the treatment.
The potential treatment, AZD7442, is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies and is being developed for the development and treatment of Covid-19. These antibodies are derived from convalescent patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and were discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca in June.
The trial will include up to 48 healthy participants in the UK aged 18 to 55 years and is being funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the US Department of Defense, and the Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health & Human Services.
The Cambridge-based drugmaker said that should the treatment prove to be tolerated and have a favourable safety profile, AstraZeneca will progress it into larger late-stage Phase II and Phase III trials to evaluate its efficacy as a potential preventative and treatment approach against Covid-19.
The announcement of the new potential Covid-19 treatment comes after Downing Street said on Monday that the UK would be first in line for a separate coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University if it was proven to be effective.
It comes after reports that US President Donald Trump is considering granting emergency authorisation for it to be deployed in the US.
The vaccine is being developed by Oxford scientists and AstraZeneca.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "We have been clear that we will only roll out a vaccine once it is deemed safe and effective by our regulators."
The UK government has struck a deal with AstraZeneca to get "first access" to it once approved, the spokesman said.
AstraZeneca shares were up 0.5% early Tuesday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.4% at 6,126.37
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Hang Seng: down 0.1% at 25,523.41
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.4% at 23,296.77
DJIA: closed up 378.13 points, or 1.4%, at 28,308.46
S&P 500: closed up 34.12 points, or 1.0%, at 3,431.28
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GBP: up at USD1.3094 (USD1.3075)
EUR: firm at USD1.1810 (USD1.1802)
Gold: down at USD1,932.61 per ounce (USD1,933.88)
Oil (Brent): up at USD45.27 a barrel (USD44.88)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 BST UK CBI distributive trades survey of business conditions for retailers
1100 BST Ireland labour force survey
1000 CEST Germany Ifo business climate index
0900 EDT US monthly and quarterly house price index
1000 EDT US consumer confidence index
1630 EDT US API weekly statistical bulletin
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The first night of the Republican convention set out to defend US President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic and accuse the rival Democrats of being weak on crime, soft on China and likely to stifle economic growth if Joe Biden becomes president. Trump, earlier in the day, was unanimously nominated as the party's candidate for president. He showed up in North Carolina for an unscheduled in-person speech to delegates of the Republican National Convention, despite the pandemic. Trump, 73, used his speech before the boisterous group to claim that the Democrats were attempting to steal the November election through mail-in ballots, which the centre-left bloc is promoting to reduce the risk of spreading the new coronavirus. "They are using Covid to steal an election, they are using Covid to defraud our people, all of our people, of a free and fair election," Trump said. "The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election."
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS RAISES BUNZL PRICE TARGET TO 2550 (2350) PENCE - 'OVERWEIGHT'
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CREDIT SUISSE RAISES BUNZL PRICE TARGET TO 2450 (2175) PENCE - 'NEUTRAL'
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RBC RAISES BUNZL PRICE TARGET TO 2000 (1750) PENCE - 'UNDERPERFORM'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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AVEVA said it has reached an agreement to acquire California-based OSIsoft, a fellow industrial software maker, at an enterprise value of USD5.0 billion. AVEVA said the deal is expected to be funded by a combination of a capital raise by way of a rights issue of new shares, cash on balance sheet and new debt facilities, as well as issuing new shares to one of the selling shareholders. AVEVA said it will hold a general meeting to approve the transaction and terms of the rights issue. AVEVA said that approximately 88%, or USD4.4 billion of the total consideration will be paid in cash, which will be funded by a combination of USD3.5 billion from the proceeds of the proposed rights issue and USD900 million from existing cash on balance sheet and new debt facilities. Turning to current trading, AVEVA said strong growth in subscription revenue has continued, while maintenance revenue was broadly flat and perpetual licences and services reduced substantially.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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James Fisher said the challenges brought about by the coronavirus crisis meant the first half of 2020 was one of the most demanding periods the marine services company has faced. For the half-year to June 30, revenue fell 10% to GBP258.1 million from GBP286.9 million last year, and pretax profit dropped 60% to GBP7.1 million from GBP20.9 million. James Fisher cut its interim dividend by 29% to 8.0 pence from 11.3p paid out last year. Chief Executive Officer Eoghan O'Lionaird said: "Whilst the second half is expected to remain challenging and the outlook for our end markets is uncertain, we expect trading to improve through the second half, assuming no material deterioration in the Covid-19 situation. James Fisher is well diversified by geographical sector and end market. The resilience of the group, our strong liquidity position combined with swift actions taken to reduce costs, position James Fisher well for any improvement in market conditions in the second half and beyond. Whilst the financial performance in 2020 will be lower than 2019, the group remains well placed to deliver future growth for its shareholders."
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Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of Carnival Corp and Carnival PLC, including its corporate family rating to B1 from Ba1, senior secured rating to Ba2 from Baa3, and senior unsecured rating to B2 from Ba2. The outlook is negative, the ratings agency said. This concludes the review for downgrade that was initiated on July 14. "The downgrade reflects Moody's expectation that Carnival's metrics will remain weak over at least the next two years," said Pete Trombetta, Moody's lodging & cruise analyst.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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The world's most closely watched stock index will get a slightly new look at the end of August, as Exxon Mobil is bumped out of the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average. The global oil giant will be removed to make room for cloud computing firm Salesforce.com, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement. It is a historic change for the index, as Exxon has formed part of the Dow since October 1928, although for years it was listed as Standard Oil of New Jersey. In addition, biotech company Amgen Inc will replace pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and industrial systems manufacturer Honeywell International takes the spot held by defence contractor Raytheon Technologies. The change is driven in part by Apple's planned four-to-one stock split, which reduces the Dow's weight globally, S&P Dow Jones said. The new index will debut August 31.
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Tuesday's Shareholder Meetings
Iomart Group
Puma VCT 13
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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