British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced a collaboration with Oxford University to develop a vaccine for the Omicron coronavirus strain, joining the ranks of other vaccine developers.

“Together with Oxford University, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an Omicron variant vaccine, in case it is needed and will be informed by emerging data,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

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Outside of business hours, Oxford did not respond to a request for comment.

Sandy Douglas, a study group head at Oxford, was the first to reveal the development, according to the Financial Times.

“Adenovirus-based vaccines (such as that made by Oxford/AstraZeneca) could in principle be used to respond to any new variant more rapidly than some may previously have realised,” Douglas told the Financial Times.

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AstraZeneca’s antibody cocktail Evusheld was discovered to have a neutralising effect against the Omicron variant in lab testing last week. 

Earlier this year, BioNTech and Pfizer announced that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variation in a lab test, indicating that booster injections may be necessary for protection against infection from the newly found version.

Two doses of the vaccine, according to the German and American companies, resulted in much weaker neutralising antibodies but could still protect against severe disease.

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“The first line of defence, with two doses of vaccination, might be compromised and three doses of vaccination are required to restore protection,” BioNTech Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tuereci stated during a news conference. 

If necessary, the companies also stated that an improved vaccination targeting the Omicron type may be delivered in March 2022.

Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton previously suggested that a reformulated vaccine against the Omicron coronavirus strain could be available early next year.

It’s unclear whether new COVID vaccine formulations would be required or if current vaccines will protect against the new variety that has begun to spread across the world.

“We should know about the ability of the current vaccine to provide protection in the next couple of weeks, but the remarkable thing about the MRNA vaccines is that we can move very fast,” Burton said on BBC. 

“If we have to make a brand new vaccine I think that’s going to be early 2022,” the Moderna CEO remarked.