AstraZeneca continuing to work with FDA to collect data on Evusheld and variants

AstraZeneca issued the following update on U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization of Evusheld: "The US Food and Drug Administration has stated that AstraZeneca’s Evusheld is not currently authorised for Emergency Use for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in the US until further notice, due to the sustained high frequency of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants that Evusheld does not retain in vitro neutralisation against. The FDA has notified AstraZeneca that the Agency will make a determination about reinstating authorisation of Evusheld if the national prevalence of resistant variants decreases to 90% or less on a sustained basis. The US government recommends all Evusheld product be retained and properly stored in the event that variants susceptible to Evusheld, including those currently circulating at lower prevalence, become more prevalent in the future. Based on in vitro pseudovirus assay laboratory data, Evusheld does not neutralise Omicron subvariants BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BF.7, BF.11, BA.5.2.6, BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2, XBB and XBB.1.5. The combined proportion of COVID-19 cases caused by these subvariants is currently greater than 90% in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nowcast modelling data. AstraZeneca will continue to work with the FDA and other health authorities to collect, assess and share relevant data regarding Evusheld and SARS-CoV-2 variants. Evusheld currently remains authorised in other countries where it is approved for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment, including the EU and Japan. AstraZeneca has initiated the SUPERNOVA Phase I/III trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of a next-generation long-acting antibody in COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis in an immunocompromised population. In in vitro lab studies, the new LAAB has been shown to neutralise all SARS-CoV-2 variants tested to date, including variants that have proved resistant to other monoclonal antibodies.3 AstraZeneca is aiming to make the new LAAB available in the second half of 2023, subject to trial readouts and regulatory reviews. About 2% of the global population is considered at increased risk of an inadequate response to COVID-19 vaccination and could benefit from monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19 protection." Reference Link