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Drug Discovery and Development

Early data suggest COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies offer less protection against Omicron variant

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SARS-CoV-2 image

SARS-CoV-2 image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The antibody cocktails from Regeneron (NSDQ:REGN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) may provide less protection against the Omicron COVID-19 variant than earlier circulating variants.

Independent researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle) concluded that bamlanivimab and etesevimab had a decrease in protection against Omicron, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Omicron could be more resistant to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than “all the other major variants,” surmised Jesse Bloom, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in an interview with Science.

Regeneron released a statement with similar conclusions about its REGEN-COV treatment. While noting that there are “no direct data” pertaining to Omicron’s resistance to monoclonal antibodies or vaccine-induced antibodies, Regeneron stated that earlier in vitro studies and structural modeling indicate that the Omicron variant may resist both. The company is overseeing additional studies to analyze the impact of the Omicron variant against its REGEN-COV therapy.

Regeneron has a pipeline of multiple additional antibodies that may offer substantial protection against the Omicron variant.

The company plans on releasing additional data before the end of the year.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Merck (NYSE:MRK) have stated that they expect their COVID-19 antivirals to remain effective against the Omicron variant.

Filed Under: Infectious Disease
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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