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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Maggie Fick<\/p>\n
BARCELONA (Reuters) – AstraZeneca is confident that its new version of COVID-19 antibody treatment could protect immunocompromised patients against all known virus variants, its vaccines head said.<\/p>\n
Laboratory studies show the antibody, called AZD3152, neutralizes all known variants of COVID-19 and AstraZeneca has support from regulators to make the treatment available by the end of this year, Iskra Reic said in an interview on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
AstraZeneca plans, pending more positive data and regulatory approval, to make the antibody available by the end of 2023.<\/p>\n
These types of therapies are most needed for people with compromised immune systems, either because of underlying conditions or because they are undergoing immune suppressing treatments. They account for nearly 2% of the global population.<\/p>\n
In January, the U.S. health regulator withdrew its emergency use authorization for AstraZeneca’s original COVID-19 antibody cocktail Evusheld, as new dominant variants made it obsolete. <\/p>\n
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision resonated with concerns raised by Europe’s health regulator. <\/p>\n
AstraZeneca’s AZD3152, it new COVID-19 antibody, was acquired through a $157 million deal last year with British biotech start-up RQ Bio.<\/p>\n
The British drugmaker will likely make future investments like its current partnerships with RQ Bio but did not have any deals to announce, said Reic, a longtime AstraZeneca executive who has led the company’s vaccines and immune therapies unit since it was formed in late 2021, during the pandemic. <\/p>\n
Last year, the unit made $4.8 billion in revenues. However, demand for COVID-19 vaccines have dramatically declined with competition from mRNA vaccines and given many countries already have an oversupply of COVID-19 shots. <\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by Maggie Fick in Barcelona; Additional reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Alexander Smith)<\/p>\n
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