Two Optimized Monoclonal Antibodies May Offer COVID-19 Protection

AstraZeneca announced on August 25, 2020, a Phase I trial of AZD7442 was launched. This early-stage study is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in development for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 disease. Discovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and licensed to AstraZeneca in June 2020, the mAbs were optimized with half-life extension and reduced Fc receptor binding.

'The half-life extended mAbs should afford at least 6-months of protection from COVID-19.'

In the July 15, 2020, publication of Nature, the mAbs were shown preclinically to block the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to host cells and protect against infection in cell and animal models of disease.