A nurse handles an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine vial in the vaccine clinic at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice, on March 23, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. Getty
A nurse handles an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine vial in the vaccine clinic at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice, on March 23, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. Getty
A nurse handles an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine vial in the vaccine clinic at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice, on March 23, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. Getty
A nurse handles an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine vial in the vaccine clinic at Sydney Road Family Medical Practice, on March 23, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. Getty

World

AstraZeneca faces new setback in US over incomplete data

AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine suffers a blow as it looks for emergency use authorisation in the US

Reuters

March 23, 2021

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British-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca may have provided incomplete efficacy data on its Covid-19 vaccine from a large-scale US trial, a US health research agency said on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca had said a day earlier that its Covid-19 vaccine, developed with Oxford University in Britain, had been 79 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in the US, Chile and Peru.

However, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported concerns expressed by the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB).

"The DSMB expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data," the NIAID said.

"We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible."

The request cast doubts over the company's plan to seek US emergency use authorisation for the vaccine in the coming weeks.

Authorisation and guidelines for use of the vaccine in the US will be determined by the Food and Drug Administration and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, after thorough review of the data by independent advisory committees, said the NIAID, which is part of the National Institutes of Health agency.

Hailed as a milestone in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic when it emerged last year, the AstraZeneca vaccine has faced doubts over its efficacy, dosing regimen and possible side effects.

Its use was temporarily suspended in a number of countries – including a dozen in Europe – over concerns linking it to blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency drugs regulator said the AstraZeneca vaccine is "safe and effective".

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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”