Astra Covid Antibody Drug Works Against Omicron in Lab Tests

(Bloomberg) -- AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 antibody therapy retained neutralizing activity against the omicron variant in lab testing in a sign the treatment should still provide protection against the pathogen.

The long-acting drug combination, which has been authorized for use in the U.S. for the prevention of the disease in high-risk people, produced the same neutralizing antibody levels found in someone who has been previously infected with the virus, the company said Thursday.

The preclinical data was generated by investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using pseudovirus testing of the omicron spike protein, which has more than 30 mutations. The omicron strain wasn’t in circulation at the time the trials were done for the medicine, called evusheld.  

“By combining two potent antibodies with different and complementary activities against the virus, evusheld was designed to evade potential resistance with the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants,” Mene Pangalos, head of Astra’s biopharmaceuticals research, said in a statement.

The company said it was carrying out more tests along with outside laboratories and more data was expected soon.

The results show a similar picture to the antibody drug created by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Vir Biotechnology Inc. The companies said last week their Covid-19 antibody treatment was effective against the full combination of mutations in tests done in-vitro against a pseudovirus of omicron.

The findings are a relief after a number of medical experts expressed concerns the antibody drugs, which target the spike protein like vaccines, may be compromised by the new strain.

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