AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) announced it has modified an existing agreement with the US Government to supply up to 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442, billing it an extra US$205mln.
The drug is a long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination for the prevention and treatment of Coronavirus (COVID-19), currently being tested in late-stage trials in more than 9,000 participants around the world.
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In October, the FTSE 100 pharma giant agreed with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense (DoD) for the support of the candidate’s development and for an initial 100,000 doses, including the option to buy extra ones in 2021.
The company also has a separate agreement to supply the DoD with 100,000 doses, bringing potential US supplies of AZD7442 to 700,000 in 2021, for a total value of US$726mln.
The two-LAAB combination has been engineered with AstraZeneca's proprietary half-life extension technology which triples the durability of its action compared to conventional antibodies.
The combination of LAABs is also designed to reduce the risk of resistance developed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants.
In a separate announcement, AstraZeneca said it completed the divestment of its 26.7% take in Viela Bio, Inc. as part of the proposed acquisition of Viela by Horizon Therapeutics PLC, for US$775mln.