According to the results of a phase III trial published Thursday by AstraZeneca, COVID-19 Long-Acting AntiBody (LAAB) combination reduces the likelihood of developing Covid-19 symptoms by 83 percent over six months.

This drug combination, consisting of a 300 mg dosage of AZD7442 delivered intramuscularly (IM), is being tested for prophylaxis in high-risk and immunosuppressed individuals before exposure to the Covid-19 virus.

People with blood cancer or other tumors being treated with chemotherapy, dialysis patients, those taking medications after an organ transplant, and those taking immunosuppressive drugs for multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis are all thought to be at increased risk of an inadequate response to the Covid-19 vaccine.

In fact, more than 75% of the individuals in this study had comorbidities that put them at high risk of catching the virus and becoming critically ill if they did become infected.

In the primary and six-month analyses, there were no occurrences of severe illness or virus-related deaths in individuals treated with AZD7442. During the six-month study, there were two cases of severe Covid-19 among those who got placebo, for a total of five cases of severe sickness and two deaths from the virus.

In addition, in patients with mild or moderate virus, a 600 mg dosage of AZD7442 reduced the probability of developing severe disease or mortality (from any cause) by 88 percent when compared to a placebo in patients who had been symptomatic for three days or fewer at the time of therapy. Ninety percent of the trial participants, including those with comorbidities, came from communities at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 if infected.

“These compelling results give me confidence that this long-acting antibody combination can provide my vulnerable patients with the long-lasting protection they urgently need to finally return to their everyday lives,” explains Hugh Montgomery, Professor of Intensive Medicine at University College London and Principal Investigator for AZD7442.

Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca’s senior vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development, said AZD7442 was the only long-acting antibody therapy with phase three results demonstrating efficacy in both preventing and treating Covid-19 with a single dosage.

“We are progressing regulatory filings around the world and look forward to providing an important new option against SARS-CoV-2 as quickly as possible,” he said.

According to the firm, the full results of these two trials will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal and presented at a future health convention.

On October 5, AstraZeneca announced that it has submitted an emergency use authorization application for AZD7442 for Covid-19 prophylaxis to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If the FDA granted emergency use authorisation, AstraZeneca has pledged to supply 700,000 doses of AZD7442 to the United States and has arrangements to supply to other nations.

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