Preliminary data from U.K. drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline and its partner, Vir Biotechnology, indicates their COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment, sotrovimab, is effective against the omicron variant, the companies said Dec. 7.
"Sotrovimab is the first monoclonal antibody to report preclinical data demonstrating activity against all tested SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and interest to date, including omicron, as well as the still prevalent and highly contagious delta variant," said George Scangos, PhD, Vir's CEO. "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-19."
The findings, which suggest the effectiveness of sotrovimab is just slightly weakened by omicron, are based on laboratory data published in preprint server BioRxiv.
This comes as early research from other drugmakers suggests that similar treatments are less effective against omicron, which has been detected in at least 18 U.S. states as of Dec. 6.
Sotrovimab is authorized for early treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 among patients who are at high-risk of developing severe disease in the U.S.