A new version of a drug that protects vulnerable patients at risk of dying from Covid-19 could be available within months, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Last week, the NHS spending watchdog, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), rejected treatment Evusheld for people who do not respond to Covid vaccines. It ruled that the latest evidence suggests it is no longer effective against current Covid variants.
It is believed that 500,000 Britons are still at serious risk of contracting Covid due to conditions that weaken their immune systems and make vaccines ineffective.
However, Astrazeneca, the developer of Evusheld, is already administering an updated version to study participants in the UK and is confident that it has been shown to fight all known forms of Covid.
Insiders who spoke to the MoS said the drug, called Evusheld Two, activated essential protective proteins in laboratory studies.
NHS spending watchdogs have withdrawn money to treat vulnerable patients with Evusheld after it emerged the original drug is no longer effective against Covid-19
Clinical trials have shown the updated formula to be 88 percent effective in at-risk patients
A number of clinically vulnerable Britons have already been awarded Evusheld Two by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The study is still recruiting in London, Nottingham and Oxford.
“We hope to make Evusheld Two available in the UK in the second half of the year,” the source revealed.
Evusheld is a monoclonal antibody, which means it binds to the Covid virus to prevent it from attaching to healthy cells in the body.
When Evusheld was first approved for use in the UK in March 2022, studies showed it could reduce the risk of Covid infection by 88 per cent in susceptible patients, such as those with blood cancer or organ transplants that have suppressed their immune systems. Medicines to reduce the risk of rejection.
However, it was almost a year before NHS bosses decided to buy Evusheld, after which new variants arrived, rendering it ineffective.
Following NICE’s decision not to acquire Evusheld, it said it would speed up the review of Covid medicines going forward.
“Covid is still an ongoing threat to thousands of Britons,” said Fiona Loud, policy director at the charity Kidney Care UK. “We need to make sure that the same mistakes are not repeated when Evus Hero Two arrives.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
