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.”

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER