June 8, 2022

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Wednesday released new positive data from a phase 3 trial for its anti-Covid-19 drug Evusheld.

These results published in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine show that “Evusheld” provides significant statistical protection once morest progression to a severe form of Covid-19 or death compared to the use of a placebo”, writes AstraZeneca in a press release. This trial “shows the benefit of outpatient treatment with Evusheld of mild to moderate cases of Covid-19”, according to the group. In this trial called TACKLE, “90% of the participants had a risk of progression of their Covid-19 to a severe form due to comorbidities or their age”, notes the laboratory.

The trial was conducted at 95 sites in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Japan with 903 participants. “Despite the success of vaccines, many people, especially the elderly or those with co-morbidities or who are immunocompromised, are still at risk of severe forms of Covid-19,” commented Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive care at University College London and the one of the test managers. “Other options are needed to prevent disease progression and reduce the pressure on health systems, particularly in view of the emergence of new variants,” he added, quoted in the press release. “We continue to discuss the TACKLE results with regulators,” said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceutical research at AstraZeneca.

Evusheld has marketing authorization in the European Union and conditional authorization in Great Britain for preventive treatments. A monoclonal antibody, this drug is also authorized in certain specific cases in the United States and applications for authorization in the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 are under study in several other countries.