A-Z trials Covid-19 treatment

AstraZeneca has begun testing a drug for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

A-Z is just one of a host of other pharma companies in the global race to develop a successful vaccine.

A study of the antibody-based cocktail will evaluate if AZD7442, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, was safe and tolerable in up to 48 healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 55 years.

If the UK-based early-stage trial, shows AZD7442 is safe, AstraZeneca said it would proceed to test it as both a preventative treatment for COVID-19 and a medicine for patients who have it, in larger, mid-to-late-stage studies.

Development of monoclonal antibodies to target the virus, an approach already being tested by Regeneron, ELi Lilly, Roche and Molecular Partners, has been endorsed by leading scientists.

Monoclonal antibodies mimic natural antibodies generated in the body to fight off infection and can be synthesised in the laboratory to treat diseases in patients. Current uses include treatment of some types of cancers.

AstraZeneca has received US$23.7 million in funding from US government agencies to advance development of antibody-based treatments for COVID-19.

“This combination of antibodies, coupled to our proprietary half-life extension technology, has the potential to improve both the effectiveness and durability of use in addition to reducing the likelihood of viral resistance,” said Astra’s executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals R&D Mene Pangalos.

Though vaccines are at the heart of the long-term fight against the pandemic, alternative treatments are also being advanced, and the United States has authorised the use of recovered COVID-19 patients’ plasma to treat those who are ill.