by Bill Snyder

On Thursday, Nov. 17, Mark Esser, PhD, vice president, Early Vaccines and Immune Therapies R&D at AstraZeneca, will discuss his company’s collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center that led to development of the Evusheld antibody combo to prevent COVID-19 in high-risk individuals.

Sponsored by the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Esser’s talk, titled “Better Together: The Evusheld Story,” will begin at 10 a.m. in 202 Light Hall. Esser will also speak at a celebration of VUMC’s COVID-19 research on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 16.

Human monoclonal antibodies against the COVID-19 virus that were isolated in the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center in early 2020 were optimized by AstraZeneca into a long-acting antibody combination, Evusheld.

Authorized in the United States in December 2021 to prevent COVID-19 in adults and children 12 years and older with compromised immune systems or a history of severe adverse reactions to a COVID-19 vaccine, Evusheld also has been approved for prevention and as a COVID-19 treatment in Japan and Europe.