AstraZeneca’s Antibody Treatment Shown to Prevent Symptomatic COVID-19

AstraZeneca said its monoclonal antibody treatment AZD7442 was shown to reduce the risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms by 77 percent vs. placebo in a phase 3 study — and it plans to use the findings to support global Emergency Use Authorizations and conditional approvals.

AstraZeneca anticipates that the antibody will be used as an alternative to vaccines for those who refuse to get inoculation and for individuals who don’t receive effective protection from vaccines.

There were no cases of severe disease or COVID-19-related death in the study arm receiving AZD7442, but there were two deaths and three cases of severe COVID-19 in the placebo cohort, the company said. The global late-stage trial contained 25 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 at the time of the primary analysis, with the study enrolling almost 5,200 total participants.