AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid antibody drug was rejected by England’s cost regulator in a draft recommendation that said it’s unlikely to work against most circulating strains of the virus and is not cost-effective for the struggling National Health Service.
(Bloomberg) — AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid antibody drug was rejected by England’s cost regulator in a draft recommendation that said it’s unlikely to work against most circulating strains of the virus and is not cost-effective for the struggling National Health Service.
The medicine, called Evusheld, was cleared in the UK by people who can’t get vaccinated or have poor immune responses. But recent laboratory studies indicate it’s unlikely to prevent infection from the Covid subvariants currently circulating, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said in the draft guidance.
“The limitations in the clinical evidence mean it is not possible to make a reliable cost-effectiveness estimate,” NICE said, advising further research.
It’s another letdown for AstraZeneca in the Covid field. The drugmaker was the first to develop a vaccine but lost out on sales to a rival shot from Pfizer Inc. Last year, Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said it was a “sad situation” that Britain had not ordered Evusheld yet.
Read More: Covid Shielders Keep Isolating as Astra’s New Drug Hits Hurdles
AstraZeneca said it will continue to engage with NICE as it advances toward a final decision.
Evusheld is no longer authorized for use in the US as regulators said last month that fewer than 10% of the variants circulating there were responsive to the treatment.
AstraZeneca is testing a next-generation long-acting antibody to prevent Covid in immune-compromised people and aims to make the drug available in the second half of 2023. Revenue from Covid medicines will probably decline significantly this year, the company said last week.
Britain’s NHS is under increasing pressure as costs spiral amid staff shortages and long waiting lists, affecting patient care.
“There is an overwhelming clinical need for long-acting antibodies to protect those who aren’t protected from vaccines,” said Lennard Lee, senior clinical research fellow at the University of Birmingham. “Those who remain extremely vulnerable to Covid need to be prioritized in trials akin to those early days of the pandemic.”
(Updates with company comment in fifth paragraph.)
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