AstraZeneca says prospect of COVID-19 drug success underscores value of vaccine ops

LONDON: An AstraZeneca executive said the prospect of offering a new treatment to prevent COVID-19 could position the British drugmaker as a supplier of both vaccines and drugs which guard against the infectious disease.

The remarks by executive Mene Pangalos on Friday, after antibody drug AZD7442 was shown to prevent COVID-19 in a trial, came after another leading executive, Ruud Dobber, said last month that different options were being explored for the vaccine operations, which stem from a collaboration with Oxford University.

"When we talked about the decisions around the vaccine we said obviously we want to see what the results of 7442 are as well," Pangalos told Reuters.

"No other company has delivered two molecules against SARS-CoV2. This definitely helps us in positioning us in terms of COVID," he added. SARS-CoV2 is the scientific name for the COVID-19 causing virus.