Britain's AstraZeneca shares may struggle if vaccine falls short

AstraZeneca will struggle to come close to candidates Moderna, BioNTech, and Pfizer according to investors and analysts

AstraZeneca test tubes used in research and development in a laboratory. Picture: PA

AstraZeneca has some tough acts to follow when it rolls out final-stage test results for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, and the British drugmaker’s shares price may take a hit if it falls too far short of its competitors.

Clinical-trial results this month for other inoculations, including the shot called BNT162b2 being developed by Pfizer of the US and BioNTech of Germany and the other from US pharma firm Moderna, showed those shots to be about 95% effective in preventing symptomatic infection. The University of Oxford said earlier this week that key findings from the last phase of tests in its trial with AstraZeneca are expected in the coming weeks.