AstraZeneca said it has agreed with the U.S. government to supply additional doses of AZD7442, a Covid-19 antibody treatment.

AZD7442 is a long-acting monoclonal antibody treatment with an extended half-life. The treatment tripled the durability of its action compared to conventional antibodies. It draws much attention because it is designed to reduce the risk of resistance developed by the Covid-19 virus and its variants.

AstraZeneca announced on Tuesday that it has revised its existing agreement with the U.S. government to supply 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442.

AstraZeneca says it agreed to supply the U.S. with additional 500,000 doses of AZD7442, a Covid-19 antibody treatment.
AstraZeneca says it agreed to supply the U.S. with additional 500,000 doses of AZD7442, a Covid-19 antibody treatment.

Earlier in October, the company agreed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to receive government support for the late-stage development of ADZ7442 and supply an initial 100,000 doses of the treatment.

The October agreement included an option to add extra doses in 2021.

AstraZeneca also has a separate agreement to supply the DoD with 100,000 doses, bringing the total U.S. supply of ADZ7442 to 700,000 this year.

AZD7442 is a combination of two long-acting antibodies. With AZ’s half-life extension technology, the treatment has tripled its action durability compared to existing antibodies, the company said. The combo of the two antibodies can suppress the resistance developed by the Covid-19 virus and its variants, it added.

The company is testing AZD7442 to prevent and treat Covid-19 in more than 9,000 participants in late-stage clinical trials worldwide.

Five phase-3 trials are going on, including the STORM CHASER and PROVENT study.

The STORM CHASER trial assesses AZD7442’s preventive effect and safety in 1,125 people after exposure to those infected with Covid-19 compared with placebo.

The PROVENT study evaluates the treatment compared to placebo in about 5,000 adults who are at increased risk for Covid-19 infection due to living or work situations, or who are at increased risk of responding inadequately to vaccines, such as those with the compromised immune system.

The TACKLE COVID-19 study is an AZ-sponsored trial evaluating AZD7442’s therapeutic effect in non-hospitalized patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. The National Institute of Health is sponsoring the phase-2/3 ACTIV-2 and ACTIV-3 trials to test the treatment in outpatients, and inpatients, respectively.

AZD7442 was discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca in June 2020. The company estimates that the total value of its agreements with the U.S. government for the development and supply of the treatment is about $726 million.

“The long-acting antibody combination has the potential to offer almost immediate protection to those who are not able to be vaccinated, to both prevent infection or treat the disease in patients already infected with the virus,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said.

The U.S. government’s support is critical in helping accelerate the development of AZD7442, which we believe will be an important tool in the fight against Covid-19, he added.

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