Feature
The World Needs the Not-for-Profit AstraZeneca Vaccine, Minus the AstraZeneca Drama
A series of unforced errors by the British pharma company has turned hope into hesitancy.
Mene Pangalos, head of biopharmaceuticals research for AstraZeneca Plc, went to bed on Monday, March 22, feeling good for the first time in a while. After working around the clock through the weekend, he’d just announced better-than-expected interim results from the company’s large U.S. vaccine trial: The shot was safe and 79% effective at preventing cases of symptomatic Covid-19. Positive news, at last, after months of questions about everything including safety and supply shortfalls.