Antibody therapy from AstraZeneca prevents Covid-19: Study

In a study conducted by Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, it was found that AstraZeneca’s new antibody therapy had reduced the risks of people developing Covid-19 symptoms by 77%. This puts the drug maker on track to offer protection to those who respond poorly to vaccines. The company had said that 75% of the participants in the trial for the therapy had chronic conditions including some with a lower immune response to vaccinations.

Reuters reported that the therapy results were taken three months before the anti-bodies were infected and investigators would follow up as far as out as 15 months in the hope that company can tout the shot as a year long shield.

With this, AstraZeneca has become the first company to publish positive Covid prevention data from an antibody trial. It said that a trial for the treatment of the rare neurological disorder Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), developed by the company’s newly acquired Alexion, had been stopped early due to a lack of efficacy.

Focus to be on immunocompromised

As concerns over the new delta variant and waning vaccine efficacy are brewing, several high income countries have been prompted to offer a third vaccine shot on top of the usual two-shot regimen to the immunocompromised and other groups at risk.

The publication further reported that AstraZeneca would focus their new therapy more on the immunocompromised, which include those with organ transplants or cancer care that accounts for 2% of the population.