Authorized in France for patients at risk since the end of last year, the British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca published this Wednesday new positive data on a phase 3 test for its anti-Covid-19 drug Evusheld.
These results published in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine show that Evusheld "provides significant statistical protection against progression to a severe form of Covid-19 or death compared to the use of a placebo", writes AstraZeneca in a statement.
This trial “shows the benefit of outpatient treatment with Evusheld of mild to moderate Covid-19 cases,” according to the group.
A complement to the vaccine
During this trial called TACKLE, “90% of participants had a risk of progression of their Covid-19 to a severe form because of 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 critical care at University College London and the one of the test managers.
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“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.