Astrazeneca strikes $157m deal for Covid antibody drug

ASTRAZENECA has struck a deal to sell a Covid antibody treatment that aims to provide “instant and long-lasting immunity” against the virus.

The British pharmaceutical giant signed a $157m (£126m) tie-up with RQ Bio to allow it to develop the treatment, which would be given to vulnerable groups such as those undergoing cancer treatment or older people whose immune system is weaker, to give them instant protection from Covid.

Pharma companies have been focusing on next-generation treatments after rolling out their vaccines against the virus. There are widespread concerns that immunocompromised people remain at risk from Covid even as many people return to life as normal.

Late last month, Pascal Soriot, the Astrazeneca chief executive, warned that “people who are immune-compromised are really suffering from the Covid crisis”, as the end of restrictions puts them more at risk, and called for ministers to prioritise orders of antibody treatments.

Iskra Reic, executive vice president of vaccines at Astrazeneca, said the latest deal with RQ Bio “reflects our continued commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to help prevent and treat infectious disease, including Covid-19”.

He added: “The pandemic has changed the landscape for immune therapies, including the use of monoclonal antibodies to protect vulnerable patients who can’t respond adequately to vaccination alone.”

RQ Bio is a new company founded by a group of scientists involved in one of the UK’S Covid task forces. The group, set up in early 2020, sought to identify neutralising antibodies to protect the most vulnerable people.

RQ Bio’s founders, who include a former Pfizer research executive and a professor of virus genomics at Imperial College London, will stay on as scientific advisers, with the business to be helmed by Hugo Fry, previously the UK managing director at Sanofi.