An antibody treatment developed by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has shown its ability to both prevent and treat Covid-19, according to new data.
AstraZeneca submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week for emergency use authorisation for AZD7442, which is made up of two antibodies, as a preventative treatment.
In new data released this morning from its Tackle trial, AstraZeneca showed AZD7442 was effective in preventing severe disease in non-hospitalised patients with mild to moderate coronavirus, when compared with a placebo.
Most of the 903 people in the trial were at high risk of progression to severe Covid-19, including those with multiple health conditions.
The study found that a single dose of 600mg of AZD7442 given by injection into muscle managed to reduce the risk of developing severe Covid-19 or death from any cause by 50%, when compared with a placebo, in people who had been symptomatic for seven days or less.
For those who received the treatment within five days of their symptoms first appearing, AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing severe Covid or death by 67% compared with a placebo.
Hugh Montgomery is professor of intensive care medicine at University College London and lead researcher on the trial.
He said: "With continued cases of serious Covid-19 infections across the globe, there is a significant need for new therapies like AZD7442 that can be used to protect vulnerable populations from getting Covid-19 and can also help prevent progression to severe disease.
"These positive results show that a convenient intramuscular dose of AZD7442 could play an important role in helping combat this devastating pandemic."
The treatment has been billed as suitable for those who cannot have a regular vaccination, who respond poorly to Covid-19 vaccines or whose health conditions put them at particular risk of serious illness,
Full results from the Tackle trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
A separate study on the treatment published in August showed there were no cases of severe Covid or coronavirus-related deaths in those treated with AZD7442.
Merck applies to FDA for Covid pill authorisation
Merck has applied for US emergency use authorisation for its tablet to treat mild-to-moderate patients of Covid-19, putting it on course to become the first oral antiviral medication for the disease.
An authorisation from the Food and Drug Administration could help change clinical management of coronavirus as the pill can be taken at home.
The treatment, molnupiravir, cut the rate of hospitalisation and death by 50% in a trial of mild-to-moderately ill patients who had at least one risk factor for the disease, according to data released earlier this month.
The interim efficacy data on the drug, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, had heavily dented the shares of Covid-19 vaccine makers and set off a scramble among nations, including Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore, to sign a supply deal with Merck.
