AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail was highly effective in preventing symptoms among high-risk people who received the drug as prophylaxis, the company announced on Friday, offering a possible additional form of protection for people who don’t generate a strong immune response from vaccination.
In a press release, the drugmaker said that the AZD7442 antibody cocktail showed a 77% reduction in Covid-19 symptoms compared to the placebo group.
The company also noted that there were no severe Covid-19 cases or deaths in the group that had received the drug, while three severe cases and two deaths occurred in the placebo set.
The findings are from a late-stage trial of the drug which featured 5,197 participants who had other underlying medical conditions, including those that reportedly cause lowered immune response to vaccines.
According to the company, if administered before exposure, the drug could offer up to a year of protection against severe Covid.
The drugmaker’s chief of research and development, Mene Pangalos, said: “We need additional approaches for individuals who are not adequately protected by COVID-19 vaccines. We are very encouraged by these efficacy and safety data in high-risk people, showing our long-acting antibody combination has the potential to protect from symptomatic and severe disease, alongside vaccines.”
