UNITED STATES: AstraZeneca has recently requested emergency use authorisation of its new treatment to prevent COVID-19 from the US regulators for immunocompromised people who respond poorly to vaccines.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said that the late-stage trial showed its drug reduced the individual's risk of catching any COVID-19 symptoms by 77 per cent, and data was included in its record with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
AstraZeneca has said its antibody therapy called AZD7442 could protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to COVID-19 vaccines or supplement a vaccination course for those, such as military personnel, who need to bolster their protection further.
While vaccines rely on a sound immune system to produce targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, AZD7442 contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body for months to contain the virus in case of an infection.
A US authorisation for AZD7442 - based on two antibodies discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the United States - could be a major win for AstraZeneca. Its widely used COVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved by the US authorities.
