Regeneron Antibody Treatment Loses Strength Against Omicron
Regeneron Says Antibody Treatment Loses Strength Against Omicron
(Bloomberg) -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its Covid-19 antibody treatment has “diminished potency” versus omicron, but that other experimental antibodies in its portfolio are active against the variant.
The antibody cocktail remains active against delta, still the dominant mutation in the U.S., and other variants of concern, the Tarrytown, New York-based drugmaker said Thursday in an emailed statement. The shares fell 1.9% at 10:17 a.m. in New York.
Regeneron is looking to bring more of its monoclonal antibodies into clinical trials in the first quarter of 2022, if allowed by regulators.
“If omicron starts to surge, we need antibodies that will work,” Chief Executive Officer Leonard Schleifer said in an interview on CNBC. “We’re going to need a full toolkit here.”
Regeneron is among a group of drugmakers that have developed monoclonal antibodies -- man-made versions of antibodies the body produces -- to combat Covid-19. Regeneron’s cocktail and a competing product from Eli Lilly & Co. are authorized for patients who are at high risk of developing more severe disease.
Virologists and infectious-disease experts have expressed concern that current monoclonal antibodies aren’t likely to perform well against omicron given the way the treatments target the spike protein, a part of the virus that has seen a significant number of mutations. Preliminary lab data has suggested more than a dozen such therapies have lost their potency against omicron.
Nicole Kallewaard, a virologist and research adviser to Lilly, said the company will report new data on its antibody cocktail’s performance against omicron this week or early next week.
“If it’s a major reduction in activity, as we have seen before with other viral variants, it’s easy to say there’s probably going to be some sort of impact to clinical efficacy,” she said.
Lilly is also testing other antibodies in its repertoire to evaluate their activity versus omicron, “just to have in our back pocket,” Kallewaard said.
Others may not have to pursue new antibodies. U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said Thursday that its Covid-19 antibody therapy retained neutralizing activity against the omicron variant in lab testing.
While still experimental in the U.S., Covid pills from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. target the same high-risk patients as antibodies. They’re cheaper and easier to administer and expected to become the treatment of choice next year.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.