Meldingen om at samarbeidet med AZ ble avsluttet kom 21 oktober ifjor. Og passasjen angående det “strategiske”:
the decision not to enter into a definitive agreement is primarily based on a strategic evaluation of current development needs.
Current development needs… Det som ihvertfall er sikkert er at ikke noe var mer “current” i månedene og ukene frem mot den datoen enn utviklingen av vaksinen mot COVID-19. Jeg tror bare ikke det er helt tilfeldig at dette skjedde da AZ må ha prioritert alt hva de kunne av ressurser i konkurransen om å bli raskest mulig ferdig med utprøvingen av vaksinen. I tid er ihvertfall sammenfallet påfallende nok.
In July 2020, AstraZeneca partnered with IQVIA to accelerate the timeframe for clinical trials being planned or conducted in the US.[89] On 31 August, AstraZeneca announced that it had begun enrolment of adults for a US-funded, 30,000-subject late-stage study.[90] Clinical trials for the vaccine candidate were halted worldwide on 8 September, as AstraZeneca investigated a possible adverse reaction which occurred in a trial participant in the UK.[91][92] Trials were resumed on 13 September after AstraZeneca and Oxford, along with UK regulators, concluded it was safe to do so.[93] AstraZeneca was later criticised for refusing to provide details about potentially serious neurological side effects in two trial participants who had received the experimental vaccine in the UK.[94] While the trials resumed in the UK, Brazil, South Africa, Japan[95] and India, the US did not resume clinical trials of the vaccine until 23 October.[96] This was due to a separate investigation by the Food and Drug Administration surrounding a patient illness that triggered a clinical hold, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar.[97] The results of the COV002 phase II/III trial showed that immunity lasts for at least one year after a single dose.[98][unreliable medical source?] Results of Phase III trial On 23 November 2020, the first interim data was released by Oxford University and AstraZeneca from the vaccine’s ongoing Phase III trials. Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine - Wikipedia
Det ville være rart om ikke dette bidro noe til at samarbeidet ble avsluttet og såpass brått og overraskende for mange. Preklinisk var man kommet frem til lovende resultater. Neste steg ville vel evnt vært klinisk. På den ene siden hadde AZ såvidt jeg har forstått ikke noe konkret prosjekt der og da hvor de kunne nyttiggjøre seg PCIBs teknologi, på den andre siden har de ganske enkelt prioritert ressurser til “current development needs”. Og til det siste hørte ihvertfall vaksine mot COVID-19.