GSK plc (LSE/NYSE:GSK) and Sanofi (EPA:SAN) have announced that their adjuvanted bivalent vaccine candidate had 72% efficacy against omicron in adults in stage 2 of a Phase 3 study. For those with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity, the vaccine was 93.2% effective against omicron. The vaccine is based on the original D614 virus and the beta (B.1.351) strain.…
HHS halts distribution of Lilly’s bamlanivimab/etesevimab antibody cocktail
U.S. government authorities have decided to immediately pause the distribution of Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab and etesevimab over concerns that the monoclonal antibody cocktail is ineffective against some SARS-CoV-2 variants. CDC recently concluded that the Gamma variant (P.1) and the Beta variant (B.1.351) make up 11% of COVID-19 infections. They are also continuing to become more…
EU and US take steps to battle coronavirus mutations
The EU recently added clauses to COVID-19 vaccine contracts to prioritize vaccines that are effective against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Meanwhile, a U.S. House bill that would provide $1.75 billion for genomic sequencing of coronavirus samples is scheduled for floor debate and the Senate is considering similar legislation. The UK variant (B.1.1.7) that is spreading across…
South Africa pauses rollout of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
South Africa has scrapped its plans to vaccinate a portion of its population with the COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) after a small study showed it was ineffective against a variant widely circulating there. In the interim, South Africa will rely on vaccines from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Researchers at Oxford University…