AstraZeneca first in line for NHS Covid booster?

IS AN eye-catching drug deal brewing? Industry sources say AstraZeneca is closing in on a contract with the Government to buy significant supplies of its drug Evusheld.

The antibody cocktail could help Britons whose immune systems are unlikely to respond well to a Covid vaccine to fight the virus. The drug has yet to receive approval from UK regulators but Astra has already sold 1.2 million doses to the US.

Astra, one of the first out of the blocks with a virus vaccine, is up against GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Merck in the race to supply Covid drugs on a global level. But it may be the first UK firm to secure a big order from the NHS, which has committed to large orders from the US’s Pfizer and Merck.

A clutch of other drugs, including ones from Japanese giants Takeda and Fujifilm, are being used in NHS trials, looking at everything from preventing mild illness becoming serious to treating long Covid.

AstraZeneca declined to comment.