The Covid-19 drug Evusheld will not be recommended for people with weakened immune systems. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said there is no clinical evidence that the drug, made by AstraZeneca, protects against existing coronavirus variants or those expected to circulate in the next six months.
It follows a decision by the Department of Health last year not to back Evusheld due to a lack of evidence of benefit against variants, and a similar decision in the USA last month. Evusheld contains two antibodies against Covid that boost protection for those whose immune systems do not respond well to vaccines.
These include people with blood cancer and those who have received organ transplants. Nice said it is now developing a new review process to update recommendations on the cost-effectiveness of Covid treatments “so they can be made available more quickly to patients if they show promise against new variants and are found to be cost-effective”.
