Regeneron antibody therapy loses strength against omicron

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its COVID-19 antibody treatment has a “decreased power”Against the omicron variant, but that other experimental antibodies that he has in his portfolio remain active against the variant.

The antibody cocktail remains active against delta, which remains the dominant mutation in the United States, and other variants of concern, the Tarrytown, New York-based drugmaker said Thursday in an emailed statement.

Regeneron is trying to put more of its monoclonal antibodies through clinical trials in the first quarter of 2022, if the regulators authorize it.

“If omicron starts to increase, we need antibodies that work ”, said the CEO, Leonard Schleifer, in an interview on CNBC. “We’re going to need a whole set of tools here.”.

Regeneron It is one of a group of pharmaceutical laboratories that have developed monoclonal antibodies – artificial versions of the antibodies that the body produces – to fight COVID-19. Regeneron’s cocktail and a rival product from Eli Lilly & Co. They are authorized for patients who have a high risk of developing more serious pictures of the disease.

Virologists and infectious disease experts have raised concerns that current monoclonal antibodies are unlikely to work well against the omicron variant given the way treatments target the spike protein, a part of the virus that has undergone a significant amount of mutations.

Preliminary laboratory data has suggested that more than a dozen of these therapies have lost their potency against omicron.

Nicole kallewaard, virologist and research advisor to Lilly, said the company will report new data on the performance of its omicron antibody cocktail this week or early next week.

“If this is a significant reduction in activity, as we have seen before with other viral variants, it is easy to say that there will likely be some kind of impact on clinical efficacy.“, Held.

Lilly he is also testing other antibodies in his repertoire to assess their activity against omicron, “just to have on hand“, He said Kallewaard.

Others may not have to look for new antibodies. UK-based pharmacist AstraZeneca Plc announced Thursday that its COVID-19 antibody therapy maintained neutralizing activity against the omicron variant in laboratory tests.

While still experimental in the US, COVID pills from Pfizer Inc. Y Merck & Co. they target the same high-risk patients as antibodies. They are cheaper and easier to administer and are expected to become the treatment of choice next year.