On Mar. 16, 2021, AstraZeneca announced it had modified an existing agreement with the US Government to supply up to 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442, a long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination which is in late-stage development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

This agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) builds on an agreement from October 2020 for the support of the late-stage development of AZD7442 and for the supply of an initial 100,000 doses of the LAAB combination. It included the option to acquire additional doses 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.

AZD7442 is currently being evaluated for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in late-stage trials in more than 9,000 participants around the world. 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.