Astrazeneca starts trial of Covid-19 antibody treatment
Astrazeneca has started the first phase of a clinical trial of a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, to prevent and treat Covid-19.
The British pharmaceutical company said the first 48 participants, from the UK and between the ages of 18 and 55, have been dosed.
The trial will evaluate the “safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics” of the drug, called AZD7442.
“Should AZD7442 prove to be tolerated and have a favourable safety profile in the trial, AstraZeneca will progress it into larger late-stage Phase II and Phase III trials to evaluate its efficacy as a potential preventative and treatment approach against Covid-19”, Astrazeneca said in a statement.
Monoclonal antibodies aim to mimic natural antibodies, and would be given as a preventative option for people exposed to the virus, and to prevent disease progression in already infected patients.
“This trial is an important milestone in the development of our monoclonal antibody combination to prevent or treat Covid-19”, said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president, Bio Pharmaceuticals R&D, said.
“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.”
AZD7442 is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies derived from convalescent patients with the Sars-Cov-2 infection, discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Centre.
The trial is being funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (Barda).
Yesterday the pharmaceutical giant said late stage phase two and three trials for the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine are ongoing in the UK and other markets globally but said it does not anticipate efficacy results until later this year.
It came after Astrazeneca denied claims US President Donald Trump was considering bypassing normal regulatory standards to fast-track the vaccine ahead of the presidential election, first reported in the Financial Times.