AstraZeneca snared global manufacturing and distribution rights to Oxford University's adenovirus-based COVID-19 shot, which leapfrogged into front-runner status when it began human trials last week.

The vaccine candidate, initially developed by the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group, is scheduled to advance to late-stage trials by mid-2020, AstraZeneca said in a release.

Phase 1 data from five trial centers in the southern U.K. could read out as early as May. Source: Fierce Biotech 30/4/2020