London

AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) experimental COVID-19 drug has helpedreduce the risk of serious illness or death in a late-stage study, the Britishpharmaceutical manufacturer said on Monday, a boost to its efforts to developcoronavirus drugs in addition to vaccines. The drug, a cocktail of twoantibodies called AZD7442, reduced the risk of severe COVID-19 or death by 50%in non-hospitalized patients who had symptoms for seven days or less, and metthe main objective of the study. It is designed to protect people who do nothave a strong enough immune response to vaccines.