Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca says its Covid-19 antibody drug has helped reduce the risk of severe symptoms and even death. This was described in their final stage study.
Reported from Al JazeeraThis dual-antibody drug called AZD7442 reduces the risk of severe Covid-19 symptoms or death by up to 50% in patients who are not hospitalized.
However, AstraZeneca, which is given by injection, became the first preventive drug and as a treatment for Covid-19 after several trials. It is designed to protect people who do not have a strong enough immune response to the vaccine.
“These positive results suggest that a convenient intramuscular dose of AZD7442 can play an important role in helping to combat this devastating pandemic,” said Hugh Montgomery, the trial’s lead investigator, in a statement Monday.
A similar therapy created with a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies is being developed by Regeneron, Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline with partner Vir Biotechnology.
This therapy is approved for emergency use in the United States (US) to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
Last week, AstraZeneca asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant emergency use clearance for AZD7442 as a preventive therapy. According to the spokesperson, AstraZeneca also submitted data from various studies of the AZD7442 to global health regulators.
“We will continue discussions with regulators around this new data,” he said of Monday’s test results.
The trial took place in 13 countries and involved more than 900 adult participants, with half receiving AZD7442 and the rest a placebo. The full trial results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, according to AstraZeneca.
AZD7442 contains laboratory-made antibodies that are designed to stay in the body for months to contain the virus in the event of an infection. Instead, vaccines rely on an intact immune system to develop targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells.
While the results of using AZD7442 in non-hospitalized patients, a separate trial is also studying its use as a treatment for hospitalized Covid-19 patients.
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