Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to procure the Evusheld drug for treatment of covid-19 for clinically extremely vulnerable people.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 17 March 2022, Evusheld was granted conditional marketing approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). However, the MHRA highlighted uncertainty over the appropriate dose needed for protection against the Omicron variant. Understanding its efficacy is necessary prior to any procurement or deployment decisions. The UK Health Security Agency is currently undertaking further testing on the treatment’s effectiveness against the Omicron variant to inform any such decisions.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to procure and roll out (a) AstraZeneca's Evusheld and (b) other preventative treatments, for those in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and immunosuppressed people, as remaining covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Evusheld is not currently authorised for use in the United Kingdom. The Government continues to monitor a range of products, including Evusheld. However, negotiations with companies are commercially sensitive.
The RAPID C-19 collaboration has enabled active multi-agency oversight of national and international trial evidence for COVID-19 therapies as it emerges, both in potential treatment and prophylactic indications. Where material evidence is identified, this has enabled the rapid formation and implementation of UK wide clinical access policies. To date, the evidence has most strongly supported treatment use, although the evidence around prophylactic use will continue to be reviewed.
There are currently two routes to accessing treatments for COVID-19 for non-hospitalised patients in England with 1.3 million of the highest risk patients eligible directly for monoclonal antibody sotrovimab and antiviral drugs molnupiravir, Paxlovid and Remdesivir. In addition, over 20 million people are eligible for the antiviral molnupiravir through the PANORAMIC national study run by the University of Oxford. These treatments are used to prevent progression to severe disease and hospitalisation.