British drugmaker, AstraZeneca, one of the leading players in the race for a coronavirus vaccine, has started testing an antibody-based drug on volunteers for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.

The early-stage trial is a sign of progress towards a possible medical solution to the disease caused by the coronavirus. The company is separately developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine together with scientists at the UK's Oxford University.

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AstraZeneca said it would study the drug, known as AZD7442, dosed in up to 48 healthy participants in the UK between the ages of 18 and 55, to test if it was safe and tolerable.

If the trial shows AZD7442 is safe, the drug maker said it would then proceed to test it as both a preventative treatment for COVID-19 and a medicine for patients who have it, in larger, mid-to-late-stage studies.

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AZD7442 is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). These mimic natural antibodies generated in the body to fight off infection and can be synthesized in a laboratory to treat diseases in patients. They are currently used in the treatment of some types of cancers.

Anthony Fauci, a U.S. infectious diseases expert, has called them "almost a sure bet" against COVID-19, and in June, London-listed AstraZeneca received $23.7 million in funding from U.S. government agencies to advance development of antibody-based treatments for COVID-19.

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"This combination of antibodies, coupled to our proprietary half-life extension technology, has the potential to improve both the effectiveness and durability of use in addition to reducing the likelihood of viral resistance," said Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development.

The development of mAbs to target COVID-19 has also been endorsed by several leading scientists and is already being tested by other pharmaceutical companies including Regeneron, ELi Lilly, Roche and Molecular Partners.

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