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Astra Zeneca has signed a $ 1 billion contract with the United States to supply a covid-19 antibody drug. Approximately 10,000 people will receive the cocktail in various clinical studies. The hope is that the antibodies are active between six months and a year.
US President Donald Trump has praised several antibody drugs since he fell ill with COVID-19. Astra Zeneca will test its antibody medication on several thousand subjects in the coming weeks.
The Swedish-British pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca announces that it is beginning the final studies of a cocktail of antibodies against covid-19, where 6,000 subjects will initially receive the antibodies.
The United States is expected to receive 100,000 doses by the end of the year, after contributing $ 486 million, equivalent to about $ 4.3 billion, to develop and benefit from the drug. The country also has the right to buy another million doses next year.
In the coming weeks, the pharmaceutical giant will investigate in two studies how long the antibodies, which are called AZD7442, protect against COVID-19 and whether they can be used to prevent infections.
A study with about 5,000 participants will examine the safety and effectiveness of AZD7442 in preventing infections for up to twelve months. The second study will look at prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis in about 1,100 participants, “writes Astra Zeneca in a press release.
Furthermore, the pharmaceutical company plans to provide the antibody cocktail to around 4,000 patients treated for COVID-19 in complementary clinical trials.
“The agreement with the US government is accelerating the development of our long-acting antibody blend and has the ability to provide an immediate and long-lasting effect for both prevention and treatment of covid-19,” said Pascal Soriot, CEO of Astra Zeneca, in the press release.
The drug AZD7442 consists of two types of antibodies derived from patients who have recovered from COVID-19.
Recently, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has praised a cocktail of antibodies made by the Regeneron company, after being treated with the new drug, whose side effects are still unknown. Trump has also highlighted a similar antibody drug from the Eli Lilly company and the president wants the nation’s pharmaceutical industry to approve the drugs as soon as possible.
