AstraZeneca Develops COVID Drug Effective Against All Variants.
AstraZeneca's experimental drug, AZD3152, could be available by the end of the year, pending results from the "Supernova" trial, which is testing the drug's ability to prevent symptomatic infection in immunocompromised individuals. The drug has shown promising results in lab research, neutralizing all known variants of concern to date, including the latest Arcturus variant. AZD3152 is based on a different antibody than its predecessor, Evusheld, and is designed to have broader variant coverage for six months. The drug could benefit the 2% of the population who cannot mount an effective immune response from COVID-19 vaccines. Federal officials have expressed concern over the lack of options for immunocompromised Americans, and the Biden administration has recently announced a new infusion of federal funding for the development of new vaccines and antibody drugs.