(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Wednesday said the US government will buy half a million doses of its Evusheld antibody cocktail used to treat Covid-19.
The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company said it expects the 500,000 doses to be delivered during the first quarter of the year. It follows a previous purchase agreement for 700,000 doses.
Iskra Reic, Astra's executive vice president for Vaccines & Immune Therapies, said: "Today's agreement will bring protection to some of the most vulnerable people in the US, including the immunocompromised, who may receive limited or no protection from vaccines and currently have few options in the face of the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases seen in recent weeks.
"Evusheld is the only antibody therapy to receive emergency use authorisation in the US for pre-exposure prophylaxis and one of only two authorised antibody therapies to show neutralising activity against Omicron and all other variants."
On Tuesday, GlaxoSmithKline PLC announced that the US government will purchase 600,000 more doses of its Covid-19 antibody treatment, Sotrovimab.
The Brentford, England-based pharmaceutical company, alongside San Francisco-based collaboration partner, Vir Biotechnology Inc, will provide the investigational monoclonal antibody treatment to the US government for nationwide distribution in the first quarter of 2022.
Astra shares closed marginally higher at 8,479.00 pence each in London on Wednesday.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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Astrazeneca (AZN)