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news.The UK’s Cambridge-based biopharma company AstraZeneca will be delivering 500,000 more doses of AZD7442 to the US after having modified an existing agreement with the US Government.
AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination AZD7442 is in the late-stage development for the prevention and treatment of the Covid-19 virus. Credit: Steven Cornfield/Unsplash.
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The UK’s Cambridge-based biopharma company AstraZeneca will be delivering 500,000 more doses of AZD7442 to the US after having modified an existing agreement with the US Government.
AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination AZD7442 is in the late-stage development for the prevention and treatment of the Covid-19 virus.
The latest agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) modifies the agreement made in October 2020 for the support of AZD7442 and the initial supply of 100,000 doses. It includes the option to purchase extra doses in 2021.
A separate agreement binds the company to supply DoD with 100,000 doses.
AstraZeneca chief executive officer Pascal Soriot said: “The long-acting antibody combination has the potential to offer almost immediate protection to those who are not able to be vaccinated, to both prevent infection or treat the disease in patients already infected with the virus. The US Government’s support is critical in helping accelerate the development of AZD7442, which we believe will be an important tool in the fight against COVID-19.”
AZD7442’s two-LAAB combination, engineered with AstraZeneca’s proprietary half-life extension technology, triples its strength when compared to conventional antibodies. The combination of LAABs also reduces the risk of the virus developing resistance.
Upon receiving approval of Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the USFDA, the extended agreement will be valued at $205m.
Funding to purchase the additional doses was done by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) – a part of the HHS office, the Army Contracting Command, and the DoD Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND).
The total value of current agreements for the development and supply of AZD7442 to the US Government, in 2021, is estimated at $726m.
Discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, AZD7442 was licensed to AstraZeneca in June 2020.
