AstraZeneca antibody therapy prevents COVID-19, according to the study

August 20 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca’s new antibody therapy (AZN.L) reduced the risk of people developing COVID-19 symptoms by 77% in a final trial, and put the pharmacist on the clue to offer protection to those who respond poorly to vaccines.

The company said Friday that 75% of participants in the trial for therapy (two types of antibodies discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center) had chronic conditions, including some with a lower immune response to vaccinations.

Regeneron (REGN.O), Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) with Vir (VIR.O) are developing similar therapies made with a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies that mimic nature’s immune system proteins. natural. .

But AstraZeneca is the first to publish positive COVID prevention data from an antibody assay.

Still, the good news about the therapy was tempered by a separate statement from AstraZeneca on Friday.

A trial of a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) of the rare neurological disorder, developed by Alexion, recently acquired from AstraZeneca, was said to have been stopped early due to lack of efficacy. Read more

AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos said the results of the therapy trial were taken three months after the injection of the antibodies and that researchers will follow up to 15 months in the hope that the company may announce the shot as a one-year shield.

Pangalos noted that the prospects for a new COVID-19 product in AstraZeneca’s drug cabinet could also enhance the strategic value of the existing Vaxzevria vaccine, which it developed in collaboration with Oxford University. Read more

“No other company has administered two molecules against SARS-CoV2. This definitely helps us position ourselves in terms of COVID,” Pangalos told Reuters. SARS-CoV2 is the scientific name for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Another AstraZeneca chief executive, Ruud Dobber, had said last month that different strategic options were being explored for AstraZeneca’s vaccine operations, which have faced a number of challenges. Read more

OBJECTIVES OF APPROVAL

The Anglo-Swedish pharmacist has suffered production problems during the deployment of Vaxzevria, while very rare cases of blood clotting have weighed heavily on the demand for shots in Europe. The vaccine has not yet been eliminated in the United States.

Concerns about the new Delta variant and declining vaccine efficacy have led several high-income countries to offer a third vaccine that would be added to the usual double-stroke regimen for immunocompromised people and other at-risk groups.

Immunocompromised patients, such as those with organ transplants or cancer, represent approximately 2% of the population and would be the main target group for the new therapy. Naval forces on missions could also benefit, among others, Pangalos said.

Although only 12% to 13% of trial volunteers were vaccinated when therapy trial data were generated, AstraZeneca will attempt to position the shot as a reload from previous inoculations.

Pangalos said AstraZeneca was on conditional approval in the major therapy markets long before the end of the year and that by then approximately 1 to 2 million doses would be produced.

Any mass supply contract would cause the company to boost production, with one or two manufacturing sites in undisclosed locations that will serve global demand, he said.

Additional reports from Muvija M to Bengaluru; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila, Jason Neely and David Clarke

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