AstraZeneca Pharma tanks 13% as parent firm halts Covid-19 vaccine trials

The company, which is formulating and testing the vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University, is among the front-runners for last-stage trials of potential virus vaccine

Shares of AstraZeneca Pharma tanked as much as 13.4 per cent to hit a low of Rs 3,650 on the BSE on Wednesday after the company's parent firm abruptly paused global trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The development came after a volunteer showed signs of "potentially unexplained" illness.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the company said its "standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data". AstraZeneca Plc didn't reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it "a potentially unexplained illness". READ FULL REPORT HERE

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