The NHS has launched the roll-out of the new Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, with patients at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) the very first to get the life-saving jab. Among the first to be vaccinated was Prof Andrew Pollard, the Oxford BRC investigator who has played a key role in developing the vaccine. … Read more
News for Vaccines and Endemic Diseases
Key step for hepatitis research as patient database created
For the first time, a comprehensive database comprising an initial cohort of more than 1,300 patients with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C infections has been developed for potential future research into the conditions. The methodology to develop a pipeline to collect and manage this data has been presented in a paper published in BMJ … Read more
Peer-reviewed results of phase 3 Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial demonstrate efficacy
The vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 developed by researchers from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is safe and effective according to the peer-reviewed findings of the phase 3 trial. The pooled analysis of the trial across two different dose regimens resulted in an average efficacy of 70.4%; however, one dosing regimen achieved 90% efficacy. The new study, … Read more
Oxford University breakthrough on global COVID-19 vaccine
The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, has announced interim trial data from its Phase III trials that shows its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019, is effective at preventing COVID-19 and offers a high level of protection. The interim analysis indicates that the vaccine is 70.4% effective when combining data from two dosing regimens. … Read more
Health economists outline possible criteria for allocating COVID-19 vaccine
NIHR Oxford BRC-supported health economics researchers have published a paper outlining the possible criteria that governments might use to prioritise who gets a COVID-19 vaccine once one has been approved for use. The article – ‘How Should a Safe and Effective COVID-19 Vaccine be Allocated? Health Economists Need to be Ready to Take the Baton’ … Read more
BRC researchers’ work recognised with Vice-Chancellor’s Awards
A number of Oxford BRC-supported researchers have been recognised in this year’s University of Oxford Vice-Chancellor Innovation Awards. The Vice-Chancellor Innovation Awards celebrate research-led innovation that is having societal or economic impact. Prof Robert MacLaren, who leads the BRC’s Surgical Innovation theme, was named winner of the Inspiring Leadership category for his work on creation and spin-out of … Read more
Oxford coronavirus vaccine produces strong immune response, study finds
A team of scientists at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group has taken the next step towards the discovery of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine against coronavirus. The results of the Phase I/II trial, published today in The Lancet, indicate no early safety concerns and show the vaccine induces a strong immune … Read more
Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to begin phase II/III human trials
University of Oxford researchers have begun recruiting for the next phase in human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in human volunteers. The phase I trial in healthy adult volunteers began in April. More than 1,000 immunisations have been completed and follow-up is currently ongoing. The next study will enrol up to 10,260 adults and children … Read more
Oxford COVID-19 vaccine begins human trial stage
University of Oxford researchers have begun testing a COVID-19 vaccine in human volunteers in Oxford. Around 1,110 people will take part in the trial, half receiving the vaccine and the other half (the control group) receiving a widely available meningitis vaccine. Of the first two volunteers to take part, one likewise received the vaccine and … Read more
BRC funds three further COVID-19 studies
Three more studies are being funded by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) to look at the way the body interacts with COVID19; these include assessing the safety of a new vaccine; the role that antibodies might play in plasma therapy; and blood biomarkers that determine adverse reactions in those that have been infected. … Read more
Oxford COVID-19 vaccine programme opens for clinical trial recruitment
University of Oxford researchers, working in an unprecedented vaccine development effort to prevent COVID-19, have started screening healthy volunteers ahead of a vaccine trial. The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) provided essential funding to get the trial up and running. The team will enrol healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55, who, if they … Read more
Oxford researchers to play key role in fight-back against COVID-19
Researchers supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre will play a crucial role in tackling the current COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from the development of a new vaccine to developing the most effective drug treatments for people who have contracted the virus. A team from the Oxford Vaccine Group and the University of Oxford’s Jenner … Read more
Working together to find a cure to HIV
Results from a study testing a new ‘kick and kill’ method of reducing the size of the undetected HIV reservoir in people living with the virus were published in The Lancet this week. RIVER (Research in Viral Eradication of HIV Reservoirs) is the first ever randomised clinical trial to test this approach to curing HIV. … Read more
Successful Nepal study for typhoid vaccine developed in Oxford
A large field study in Nepal has shown that a typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) developed in Oxford is over 81 percent effective in tackling the disease. A single dose of the vaccine was found to be safe and effective in reducing typhoid in children aged 9 months to 16 years in an endemic setting. Attempts … Read more
NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Research Fellows named
The Oxford BRC is delighted to announce the appointment of seven new Senior Research Fellows. They were chosen from an extremely strong field of 47 applicants from across the scientific and clinical community because they demonstrated that their research was high impact and of high quality . They were also able to demonstrate leadership, independence … Read more
BRC researchers elected Fellows of Academy of Medical Sciences
Three Oxford BRC-supported researchers are among eight University of Oxford scientists elected to join the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) this year. The BRC researchers among the new Fellows are: Professor Helen McShane, Professor of Vaccinology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, Deputy Director of the Medical Sciences Division and Director … Read more
Oxford medical researchers win prestigious national awards
Four leading healthcare academics in Oxford have received a prestigious national award. The University of Oxford professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of their “outstanding contribution to clinical and applied health and social care research”. The successful candidates are all prominent researchers in the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre … Read more
HIV remission achieved in second patient
A second person has experienced sustained remission from HIV-1 after ceasing treatment, ten years after the first such case. The case was reported in a paper to be published in Nature. Like the first such case, known as the ‘Berlin Patient’, the second patient was treated with stem cell transplants from donors carrying a genetic … Read more
Oxford medical researchers win prestigious national awards
Leading health researchers in Oxford have been recognised in a prestigious national competition. Eight professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of their “outstanding contribution to clinical and applied health and social care research”. The successful candidates are all prominent researchers in the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre … Read more
World-first NHS trial for universal flu vaccine
The world’s first widespread human testing of a flu vaccine which NIHR Oxford BRC researchers hope will protect more over 65-year-olds against influenza has begun in the NHS. More than 10,000 people aged 65 and over will be asked to take part in a study supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and … Read more