AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 antibody-drug cocktail succeeded in reducing severe disease or death in non-hospitalised patients in a late-stage study.
The pharma company announced the results on Monday, marking a boost in its effort to develop COVID-19 medicines beyond vaccines.
The drug, called AZD7442, reduced the risk of developing severe COVID-19 or death by 50% in patients who had been symptomatic for seven days or less, meeting the main goal of the trial.
AstraZeneca’s therapy, delivered via injection, is the first of its kind to show promise as a preventive medicine and as a treatment for COVID-19 following multiple trials. It is designed to protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to vaccines.
The trial’s principal investigator, Hugh Montgomery said in a statement that, “These positive results show that a convenient intramuscular dose of AZD7442 could play an important role in helping combat this devastating pandemic.”
Similar therapies made with a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies are being developed by Regeneron, Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline with partner Vir Biotechnology.
These therapies are approved for emergency use in the United States for treating mild to moderate COVID-19.
AstraZeneca, whose COVID-19 jab has been widely used globally, asked the US Food and Drug Administration last week to grant emergency use authorisation for AZD7442 as a preventative therapy.
According to a spokeswoman, “AstraZeneca is submitting data from various AZD7442 studies to global health regulators.
“We’ll be continuing discussions with regulators around this new data.”
The trial took place across 13 countries and involved more than 900 adult participants, with one half receiving AZD7442 and the rest a placebo.
“Full trial results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal,” AstraZeneca said.
AZD7442 contains laboratory-made antibodies designed to linger in the body for months to contain the virus in case of an infection.
A vaccine, in contrast, relies on an intact immune system to develop targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells.
“An early intervention with our antibody can give a significant reduction in progression to severe disease, with continued protection for more than six months,” said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president at AstraZeneca.
Kamila/Reuters
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