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LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - An experimental COVID-19 vaccine
being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca
could be put before regulators this year if scientists
are able to gather enough data, the director of the Oxford
Vaccine Group said on Tuesday.
"It is just possible that if the cases accrue rapidly in the
clinical trials, that we could have that data before regulators
this year, and then there would be a process that they go
through in order to make a full assessment of the data," Andrew
Pollard told BBC Radio.
The Oxford vaccine showed early promise in the first human
trial when it produced an immune response, underlining its
position as one of the leading candidates in the race to produce
a vaccine against a disease that has crippled the global
economy.
The trial hit the headlines earlier this week when the
Financial Times reported that the Trump administration was
considering fast-tracking the vaccine for use in the United
States ahead of the Nov. 3 elections.
One option being explored would involve the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) awarding "emergency use authorization"
in October to the potential vaccine, the FT said.
"The process of going through emergency use authorization in
an emergency is well established, but it still involves having
carefully conducted data... and evidence that it actually
works," Pollard said.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Sarah Young; editing by Alistair
Smout)
