Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England plans to purchase AstraZeneca’s COVID antibody treatment AZD3152 to treat immunocompromised individuals who are unable to receive vaccines; and when he expects AZD3152 to be made available to patients.

Subject to the medicine becoming licensed for use in Great Britain, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will evaluate AZD3152 through its technology appraisal programme and will aim to issue guidance for the National Health Service as close as possible to licensing. NICE has been in discussion with the manufacturer and is preparing for the evaluation of the medicine. If it is recommended as clinically and cost effective by NICE, the NHS in England will be under a statutory requirement to fund it for eligible patients, in line with NICE’s recommendations.

There are no plans for the NHS to fund the medicine routinely ahead of it achieving a licence and an associated positive technology appraisal recommendation from NICE.