AstraZeneca Says Drug Cocktail Effective Against COVID-19 in Late-Stage Study

An office of British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is seen in Cheshire, England, in a file photograph. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

European drugmaker AstraZeneca this week said a late-stage study showed its antibody drug cocktail is effective at keeping COVID-19 patients out of hospitals.

The phase 3 trial preliminary results showed the drug, a long acting antibody (LAAB) combination, cut the risk of developing severe COVID-19 or dying by 50 percent compared to a placebo in people who did not require hospitalization and had been showing symptoms for a week or less.