The European Union has approved the first drug AstraZeneca for the prevention of COVID-19, the company said.
Evusheld, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (tiksageimab and tsilgavimab) from AstraZeneca, is the first combination of antibodies to prevent COVID-19 licensed in the UK.
The drug is approved in the European Union (EU) for the prevention of COVID-19 in a large group of adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older, but weighing at least 40 kg.
The European Commission’s approval is based on the results of the Evusheld clinical trial program, including pre-exposure prophylaxis data showing a 77% reduction in the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 compared with placebo in the initial analysis and a 83% reduction in the six-month mean. Protection against the virus lasted at least six months. The drug was generally well tolerated during the trials, the company said.