BA.2 omicron variant of SARS-COV-2 virus Remains Vulnerable to Some Monoclonal Antibodies – What Laboratory Studies Show
Lab tests show that the antiviral drugs remdesivir, molnupiravir, and the active ingredient in Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill, nirmatrelvir, still work against the BA.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The omicron variant can also be treated with some monoclonal antibodies, such as Evusheld by AstraZeneca, which is used to treat COVID-19. These laboratory experiments, however, revealed that the antibodies etesevimab and bamlanivmab, which are administered combined as a single treatment, were unable to neutralize the Omicron virus. Other antibody therapies were ineffective against Omicron compared to earlier SARS-COV-2 strains.
New research led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Washington School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Tokyo, has revealed these findings. The BA.2 omicron virus is related to the more frequent BA.1 omicron virus, and data suggests that BA.2 can spread faster than the already highly contagious BA.1.
“The bottom line is we have antibodies that appear to be more effective against BA. 2 compared with BA.1 or BA.1.1. That’s good news, but we don’t know whether what we found in in the lab translates into clinical settings,” adds Kawaoka. “We also tested clinically available antiviral compounds, and they are all highly efficacious.”
Kawaoka’s team evaluated seven monoclonal antibodies, three antibody combinations, and three antiviral therapies against the BA.2 variation in nonhuman monkey cells in the lab. Multiple antibodies are used in the majority of clinically approved antibody therapies.
Remdesivir, an intravenous drug, and the active ingredients in Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir, two anti-COVID-19 pills, were virtually as effective against BA.1 as they were against the initial SARS-CoV-2 strain.
Evusheld was the most effective antibody treatment against the BA.2 variant. It is licensed in the United States to help prevent COVID-19 infection in persons at high risk of severe disease. Antibodies sold by Regeneron and GlaxoSmithKline were far more effective against BA.2 than they were against the BA.1 omicron variant, though not as effective as they were against earlier versions of the virus.
Anti-COVID treatments currently available are typically less effective against new variants than they are against the original virus strain, as they were developed and tested against earlier versions of the virus. Researchers and pharmaceutical companies can create and test medicines for novel variants, but it takes months.
Source: 10.1056/NEJMc2201933
Image Credit: Getty
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