[ad_1]
WASHINGTON: The U.S. government awarded AstraZeneca $ 486 million to develop and secure supplies of up to 100,000 doses of COVID-19 antibody treatment, a similar class of drug that was used to treat President Donald Trump.
The deal, under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, is to develop a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies that can prevent COVID-19, especially in high-risk populations like those over 80, the Health Department said. and US Human Services.
Treatment has come into the spotlight after Trump was treated with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ antibody drug last week. The president has also posted a video on Twitter promoting its benefits.
READ: Trump’s eyes return to rallies Saturday after doctor says COVID-19 therapy was completed
In a call on Friday (October 9), a senior US health official said the government hoped to provide more than 1 million free doses of antibody treatments to COVID-19 patients, similar to the one it was given. administered Trump.
Regeneron and Eli Lilly have applied to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorizations for their antibody treatments.
AstraZeneca said it planned to supply up to 100,000 doses starting in late 2020 and that the US government could purchase up to one million additional doses in 2021 under a separate agreement.
Regeneron signed a $ 450 million deal in July to sell Operation Warp Speed enough doses of its antibody treatment, REGN-COV2, to treat about 300,000 people.
READ: EU regulator launches real-time review of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine
READ: AstraZeneca resumes COVID-19 vaccine trial in Japan, in talks with US.
Eli Lilly said Friday that he had not signed an agreement with Operation Warp Speed.
AstraZeneca plans to evaluate the treatment, AZD7442, which is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, in two studies.
One trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the experimental treatment in preventing infection for up to 12 months in approximately 5,000 participants, while the second will evaluate preventive and preventive post-exposure treatment in approximately 1,100 participants.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
