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(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC said Monday that a study looking at its AZD7442 treatment in post-exposure prevention of symptomatic Covid-19 did not meet its primary endpoint, but it noted figures which showed its vaccine holds up well against the Delta variant.
The AZD7442 treatment is entirely separate from the company’s vaccines, which are being used globally to protect against Covid-19.
The primary endpoint of the trial was post-exposure prevention of symptomatic Covid-19 with AZD7442 compared to a placebo.
The 1,212 trial participants were unvaccinated adults with confirmed exposure to a person with a case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus within the past eight days. AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic Covid-19 by a third compared to placebo, which was not statistically significant.
"While this trial did not meet the primary endpoint against symptomatic illness, we are encouraged by the protection seen in the PCR negative participants following treatment with AZD7442," said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for BioPharmaceuticals R&D at Astra.
"We await results from Provent, our pre-exposure prevention trial and Tackle, our treatment trial in preventing more severe disease, to understand the potential role of AZD7442 in protecting against Covid-19," Pangalos added.
Meanwhile, the pharma giant noted new data from Public Health England demonstrating its Covid-19 vaccine offers good protection against the Delta variant. Real world data from PHE, published as a pre-print, showed two doses of Astra's jab were 92% effective against hospitalisation from the Delta variant and showed no deaths among those vaccinated.
The promising Astra vaccine data comes as UK Prime Minister Boris Johsnon has announced a delay the end of England's coronavirus restrictions by up to four weeks after being warned that ending curbs could lead to thousands of deaths and unbearable pressure on the NHS.
Johnson announced the setback to the final phase of his plan to end the lockdown on Monday, citing concerns over the rapidly spreading Delta variant first identified in India.
Shares in AstraZeneca were up 0.3% in London on Tuesday morning at 8,376.72 pence each.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
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