Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the status is of the Government order for the AstraZeneca synthetic monoclonal antibody treatment which could be used as a prophylactic treatment against covid-19 for patients whose immune systems do not respond to covid-19 vaccines.

We are unable to provide the information requested on the AstraZeneca synthetic monoclonal antibody treatment as it is commercially sensitive.

The Therapeutics Taskforce and the cross-agency United Kingdom-wide group RAPID C-19 are monitoring clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies. We are in contact with a number of manufacturers and encourage others to come forward, to ensure that United Kingdom patients have access to COVID-19 therapeutics as evidence continues to emerge. The final decisions on any procurement for therapeutics will be dependent on there being evidence to support safety and efficacy, and on value for money and the licensing approval.