BRIEF—US govt to buy additional doses of Evusheld

UK pharma major AstraZeneca has welcomed the announcement from the US government for the purchase of an additional 500,000 doses of its Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab), a long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19.

Delivery of the additional 500,000 doses is anticipated in the first quarter of 2022. This follows the previous government agreement for the purchase of 700,000 doses of Evusheld.

Iskra Reic, executive vice president, vaccines and immune therapies, AstraZeneca, said: “Today’s agreement will bring protection to some of the most vulnerable people in the US, including the immunocompromized, 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 authorization in the US for pre-exposure prophylaxis and one of only two authorized antibody therapies to show neutralizing activity against Omicron and all other variants.”