<p>AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker that developed one of the first Covid-19 vaccines, has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorise the emergency use of an antibody treatment to prevent the disease.</p>.<p>The company said Tuesday that the treatment, known as AZD7442, would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive an emergency use authorization for Covid-19 prevention. The treatment may help protect people whose immune systems don't respond adequately to vaccination, AstraZeneca said.</p>.<p>Late-stage human trials showed that AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by 77%. More than three-quarters of the participants had suppressed immune systems and other conditions that made them more susceptible to severe disease.</p>.<p>“Vulnerable populations such as the immunocompromised often aren't able to mount a protective response following vaccination and continue to be at risk of developing Covid-19,” Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's executive vice president for pharmaceutical research, said in a statement. “With this first global regulatory filing, we are one step closer to providing an additional option to help protect against Covid-19 alongside vaccines."</p>.<p>US demand for antibody treatments soared over the summer, particularly in states like Florida, Louisiana and Texas, where hospitalisations among unvaccinated patients threatened to overwhelm the health care system.</p>.<p>The drugs are laboratory-made versions of virus-blocking antibodies that help fight off infections. The treatments help the patient by supplying concentrated doses of one or two antibodies.</p>.<p>The main antibody treatment being used in the US is Regeneron's dual-antibody cocktail. The FDA has also authorized the Regeneron product as protection for high-risk people against severe Covid-19. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker that developed one of the first Covid-19 vaccines, has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to authorise the emergency use of an antibody treatment to prevent the disease.</p>.<p>The company said Tuesday that the treatment, known as AZD7442, would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive an emergency use authorization for Covid-19 prevention. The treatment may help protect people whose immune systems don't respond adequately to vaccination, AstraZeneca said.</p>.<p>Late-stage human trials showed that AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by 77%. More than three-quarters of the participants had suppressed immune systems and other conditions that made them more susceptible to severe disease.</p>.<p>“Vulnerable populations such as the immunocompromised often aren't able to mount a protective response following vaccination and continue to be at risk of developing Covid-19,” Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's executive vice president for pharmaceutical research, said in a statement. “With this first global regulatory filing, we are one step closer to providing an additional option to help protect against Covid-19 alongside vaccines."</p>.<p>US demand for antibody treatments soared over the summer, particularly in states like Florida, Louisiana and Texas, where hospitalisations among unvaccinated patients threatened to overwhelm the health care system.</p>.<p>The drugs are laboratory-made versions of virus-blocking antibodies that help fight off infections. The treatments help the patient by supplying concentrated doses of one or two antibodies.</p>.<p>The main antibody treatment being used in the US is Regeneron's dual-antibody cocktail. The FDA has also authorized the Regeneron product as protection for high-risk people against severe Covid-19. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>