Covid-19 roundup: As­traZeneca launch­es new virus R&D di­vi­sion; US buys more of Mer­ck­'s an­tivi­ral pill

As­traZeneca is launch­ing a new di­vi­sion to en­com­pass its vac­cine and an­ti­bod­ies busi­ness­es.

The sub­unit will fo­cus on its Covid-19 vac­cine and long-act­ing an­ti­body com­bi­na­tion, a com­pa­ny spokesper­son told End­points News in an email, as As­traZeneca looks to move past its ear­ly pan­dem­ic stum­bles. Iskra Reić, who cur­rent­ly serves as ex­ec­u­tive VP for Eu­rope and Cana­da, will lead the di­vi­sion.

“In or­der to op­ti­mise the man­age­ment of our ex­ist­ing port­fo­lio of vac­cines and an­ti­bod­ies for vi­ral res­pi­ra­to­ry in­fec­tions, we are cre­at­ing a ded­i­cat­ed Vac­cines and Im­mune Ther­a­pies Unit that brings to­geth­er R&D, man­u­fac­tur­ing, com­mer­cial and med­ical teams,” the spokesper­son wrote. “The team will be ded­i­cat­ed to our COVID-19 vac­cine, our long-act­ing an­ti­body com­bi­na­tion and our de­vel­op­men­tal vac­cine ad­dress­ing mul­ti­ple vari­ants of con­cern, as well as to our ex­ist­ing port­fo­lio for res­pi­ra­to­ry vi­ral dis­ease.”

To read Endpoints News become a free subscriber

Unlock this article instantly, along with access to limited free monthly articles and our suite of newsletters

SIGN UP LOG IN