[ad_1]
regeneron said on Tuesday An indication that Covid-19 antibody therapy may be less effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. popular and widely useful monoclonal antibody drugs may need to be updated in case the new variant spreads aggressively.
The company said previous lab analyzes and computer modeling of certain mutations in the Omicron variant suggest that it could weaken the treatment’s effect. But studies using full sequences of the variant have not been completed, he said.
The company said it is already testing future antibody drug candidates, and preliminary analyzes show that some of these “may have the potential to preserve activity against the Omicron variant.” More data is expected next month, he said.
Regeneron’s president and chief scientific officer, Dr. “What we have to admit is that our urgency has increased over the past six days,” said George Yancopoulos. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “What started as a backup plan has now been made much more urgent.”
The Omicron variant has caused alarm among scientists because it contains mutations in the spike protein that is the target of government-supplied monoclonal antibody treatments. regeneron and Eli Lilly.
Scientists are also scrambling to gather data on how effective current vaccines will be against Omicron. Antiviral pills, including medications Merck and Pfizer It’s expected to hold up well against the variant, as they target a different region of the virus where Omicron’s mutations cluster, which federal regulators are considering authorizing soon.
Monoclonal antibody treatments, given in a single infusion, use lab-made copies of antibodies that humans naturally produce when fighting an infection. It has been shown to significantly shorten patients’ symptoms. Regeneron’s cocktail reduces the risk of hospitalization by 70 percent.
The company said the treatment is effective against the Delta variant, which remains the dominant form of the virus in the United States.
[ad_2]
Source link