The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca today announced encouraging results for a treatment against COVID-19, which allows to significantly reduce the risk of developing a symptomatic form of the disease in vulnerable patients.
However, this antibody treatment, codenamed AZD7442, has not previously been shown to be effective in people already exposed to the virus.
But when it is given before someone comes in contact with the virus, it works, AstraZeneca said in a statement.
In this case, it reduces by 77% the risk of developing a symptomatic form of the disease, according to the data of the third phase, ie large-scale clinical trials aimed at evaluating its safety and efficacy.
AstraZeneca also notes that no serious cases have been reported COVID-19 or death.
The trials, which took place in Spain, France, Belgium, Britain and the United States, involved 5.197 people, 75% of whom had comorbidities. The treatment was administered intramuscularly.
"With these outstanding results, the AZD7442 could be an important tool in our arsenal to help people who may need more than one vaccine to return to normal life," said Myron Levin, a professor at the University. of Colorado in the USA, who is in charge of the test.
"We need other approaches for people who are not well protected by vaccines. COVID-19"Added Mene Pangalos, a senior AstraZeneca official, who has promised to release additional test data later this year.
The lab says it will file with the health authorities to obtain approval for emergency use or conditional approval of the treatment, the development of which is funded by the US government.
AstraZeneca was also one of the first to validate its vaccine against COVID-19, which, however, raised questions about very rare side effects, which prompted countries to limit its use.
An Oxford University study released yesterday reveals that the vaccine against COVID-19 of Pfizer / BioNtech is more effective against infections associated with the delta variant strain of the new coronavirus, but its effectiveness is declining faster than that of the AstraZeneca / Oxford University vaccine.
Source: RES-EAP