Chance of success for Covid-19 vaccines 'underappreciated', Goldman says

A vaccine against Covid-19 could be available in the US in late 2020, Goldman Sachs said.

According to Bloomberg, the investment bank's analysts, led by Salveen Richter, said that the potential for biotech outfit Moderna to file interim results from its third phase 30,000 person trial was "underappreciated".

Further boosting the chances of success were another four trial innoculations that were set to get underway over the summer, from Pfizer and BioNtech, AstraZeneca-Oxford University, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Sinovac Biotech.

Richter's views on the subject came as analysts worldwide were attempting to estimate how quickly, or not, any of those vaccines might be able to gain clearance for use from US regulators.

Not least, whether or not that hurdle would be overcome before the November presidential elections in the States, with all of the potential implications that might entail.

Nonetheless, another potential hurdle reportedly included alleged Russian attempts to hack into research centres.

According to Richter, Moderna and Pfizer's vaccine candidate might be the first to obtain regulatory approval.

It was also the most promising for targeting a larger population.

On the other hand, vaccine shots employing engineered viruses, or so-called adenoviral venctors, such as those from AstraZeneca and CanSino Biologics, were more likely to only work in select groups.