GSK’s new COVID antibody drug defeats all Omicron mutations

There is some good news in the midst of all the fear over COVID’s news Omicron variant.

GlaxoSmithKline’s new antibody treatment is effective against the full combination of mutations in the new variant, research has shown.

The drugmaker said in a statement on Tuesday that tests done in-vitro against a pseudo-virus that recreates a synthesised version of Omicron showed that sotrovimab stands up to all mutations in the spike protein of the variant and not just the key mutations. The tests included all 37 mutations identified to-date in the spike protein.

The scientific world has so far been grappling with the question of whether Omicron with its many mutations can get past the existing medicines and vaccines.

Also read: Booster shot or additional dose? Experts mull ways to tackle Omicron

“We are confident that sotrovimab will continue to provide significant benefit for the early treatment of patients hoping to avoid the most severe consequences of COVID,” Vir CEO George Scangos was quoted as saying in media reports. The drug, which reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID by 79 per cent, was approved by UK regulators this month.

Shares of sotrovimab’s co-developer Vir Biotechnology rose as much as 5.2 per cent in New York while GSK’s rose 0.2 per cent in London after a study showed that the UK drugmaker’s vaccine developed with Medicago showed efficacy against several variants of COVID, an NDTV report noted.