AstraZeneca Seeks EUA for Prevention of COVID-19
AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination has been shown to reduce the risk of developing symptomatic infection.
AstraZeneca has submitted a request to the FDA for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for AZD7442, its long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination, for the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.
If granted, AZD7442 would be the first LAAB to receive an EUA for COVID-19 prevention. It is the first LAAB with phase 3 data demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 compared with placebo.
AstraZeneca presented positive data from a phase 3 study of its monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 at the 10th Annual IDWeek Virtual Conference, September 29 to October 3.
That data showed that AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77% compared with placebo, AstraZeneca said when originally announcing the results in August. The trial population included people with co-morbidities and who may be in need of additional protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Greater than 75% of participants presented with co-morbidities associated with an increased risk of severe disease or a reduced immune response to vaccination.
Related: AstraZeneca Presents Positive Results for COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody, RSV Treatments
Mene Pangalos, Ph.D.
“Vulnerable populations such as the immunocompromised often aren’t able to mount a protective response following vaccination and continue to be at risk of developing COVID-19. With this first global regulatory filing, we are one step closer to providing an additional option to help protect against COVID-19 alongside vaccines,” Mene Pangalos, executive vice president, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, said in a statement.
AZD7442 is a combination of two LAABs — tixagevimab (AZD8895) and cilgavimab (AZD1061) — derived from B-cells donated by convalescent patients after SARS-CoV-2 virus. Discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca in June 2020, the human monoclonal antibodies bind to distinct sites on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
AstraZeneca is also studying AZD7442 in a phase 3 trial to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection.
In this episode of the "Meet the Board" podcast series, Briana Contreras, Managed Healthcare Executive editor, speaks with Ateev Mehrotra, a member of the MHE editorial advisory board and a professor of healthcare policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School. Mehtrotra is also a hospitalist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. In the discussion, Contreras gets to know Mehrotra more on a personal level and picks his brain on some of his research interests including telehealth, alternative payment models and price transparency.
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