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 The drug, a cocktail of two antibodies called AZD7442, reduced the
risk of severe COVID-19 or death by 50% in non-hospitalised patients
who have had symptoms for seven days or less, meeting the main goal
of the study.
AstraZeneca's therapy, delivered via injection, is the first of its
kind to show promise both as a preventative 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.
"These positive results show that a convenient intramuscular dose of
AZD7442 could play an important role in helping combat this
devastating pandemic," Hugh Montgomery, the trial's principal
investigator, said in a statement.
Similar therapies made with a class of drugs called monoclonal
antibodies are being developed by Regeneron, Eli Lilly and
GlaxoSmithKline with partner Vir. These therapies are approved for
emergency use in the United States for treating mild-to-moderate
COVID-19.
AstraZeneca, whose COVID-19 vaccine has been widely used globally,
asked U.S. regulators last week to grant emergency use authorisation
for AZD7442 as a preventative therapy.
AstraZeneca is submitting data from various AZD7442 studies to
global health regulators, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
"We'll be continuing discussions with regulators around this new
data," she said of Monday's trial results.
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.
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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.
While Monday's results cover the use of AZD7442 in non-hospitalised
patients, a separate trial is also studying its use as a treatment
for hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
Other antibody cocktail treatments for COVID-19 have shown varied
degrees of success.
Regeneron's therapy showed 72% protection against symptomatic
infection in the first week, and 93% after that. GSK-Vir's showed a
79% reduction in the risk of hospitalisation or death due to any
cause, while Lilly's therapy showed a 70% reduction in viral load at
day seven compared to a placebo.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty, Kirsten Donovan)
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