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Thursday its Covid-19 antibody treatment, approved in the U.K. Thursday, appears to be effective against the omicron variant of coronavirus, according to early data from laboratory studies, as fears grow over whether existing treatments and vaccines are less potent against the highly-mutated variant.
Sotrovimab “retains activity against key mutations” of the new variant, GSK said, and tests are underway to ensure the antibody therapy is still effective against all omicron mutations.approved sotrovimab, marketed as Xevudy, for use in patients with mild-to-moderate Covid-19 at risk of severe illness.
The U.K.’s drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency , said a clinical trial showed a single dose of the treatment reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death by 79% in high-risk adults with symptomatic Covid-19 infection and was most effective when taken soon after the onset of symptoms.
The agency said it will work with GSK and Vir to establish the antibody treatment’s effectiveness against omicron. George Scangos, Vir chief executive, said sotrovimab was “designed with a mutating virus in mind,” targeting a part of the virus’ spike protein that is less likely to mutate. Scangos said he thought future variants of coronavirus “would be inevitable” and that he is confident the treatment will work against “the full combination” of mutations of omicron.
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