16th Dec 2021 15:00
(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Thursday said that preclinical data has shown its long-acting antibody combination for Covid-19 retains its neutralising activity against the Omicron variant.
In the study, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said that Evusheld's inhibitory concentration 50, which is a measure of neutralising potency of the antibody, was 171 nanograms per millilitre and 272 ng/ml in two tests, which was within the range found in someone who has been infected with Covid previously.
For the original strain of Covid, Evusheld's IC50 was 1.3 ng/ml and 1.5 ng/ml respectively.
The study was performed independently by investigators at the US Food & Drug Administration. Evusheld currently has emergency use authorization in the US, which was granted earlier in December for pre-exposure prophylaxis or prevention of Covid-19 in people with a moderate to severe immune compromise.
"This study shows Evusheld retains neutralisation activity against the Omicron variant. By combining two potent antibodies with different and complementary activities against the virus, Evusheld was designed to evade potential resistance with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Evusheld is the first long-acting antibody to receive emergency use authorisation in the US for pre-exposure prophylaxis of Covid-19, in addition to authorisations in other countries, and we are working with regulators on applications for the use of Evusheld in treating Covid-19," said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D.
Shares in AstraZeneca were up 2.1% at 8,463.00 pence on Thursday afternoon in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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