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AstraZeneca Releases More Positive Data on COVID-19 Antibody Treatment

AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail was more than 80% successful at both preventing symptomatic disease and stopping the illness from worsening after six months, demonstrating its ability to provide long-lasting protection.

According to the company, this medicine decreased the likelihood of developing symptoms like Covid in 83% of patients who participated in one trial. This was after six months of follow-up. Another study, which looked at half-year data of outpatients with mild-to moderate illness, concluded that the cocktail had a 88% lower risk for severe diseases or death.

Although the results showed higher protection than initial data, it was a relief to British drugmaker. The company had suffered a poor start after its first trial did not prevent symptoms in anyone who was exposed. In the United States, emergency authorization was applied by the company for the product’s prevention setting.
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The U.K. began an expedited drug review and the company intends to submit for approval in the European Union soon.

The results indicate the drug can offer “my vulnerable patients with the long-lasting protection they urgently need,” Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive-care medicine at University College London and principal investigator on the the trial, said in a statement. He cited the evidence that the drug provides lasting protection, even when the beta variant rose in popularity.

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The data from both trials — known as Provent and Tackle — adds to positive outcomes reported earlier this year.

Provent trials were specifically created for those who are not immune to vaccines. There weren’t any cases of Covid-19-related deaths in the Provent trials. The company stated that five patients developed severe forms of the disease in the placebo group, while two others died.

Tackle’s outpatient trial also targeted people at highest risk of serious disease, such as those with diabetes or cancer. About 52% were Hispanic/Latino. For patients with symptoms for 3 days or less, the new 88% efficacy rate was applied. In both studies, the cocktails were generally well-tolerated.

Initial results from August showed the cocktail had prevented 77% of high-risk patients from developing symptomatic disease. In October, however, the drug’s ability to reduce mild-to-moderate diseases by half was revealed in published data.

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