The British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on Thursday that laboratory analyses of its COVID-19 antibody treatment, developed in partnership with its U.S. partner Vir, indicate that the drug is effective against the new variant of the virus, Omicron. The company stated in a release that laboratory tests, along with a study conducted on hamsters, show that the antibody cocktail in its treatment "Sotrovimab" is effective against viruses engineered to carry several mutations characteristic of the Omicron variant.
The two companies are working on developing what are called "pseudoviruses" that carry the same key mutations found in all the variants believed to have emerged from the coronavirus to date. They are conducting laboratory tests on the ability of "Sotrovimab" to affect them. Herbert Virgin, Chief Scientific Advisor at Vir, stated, "We have carefully tracked every mutation that could be important... With the emergence of this new variant, we found that the mutations we have tested so far do not have a significant impact on Sotrovimab."
The UK Medicines Regulator approved the use of "Sotrovimab" on Thursday for COVID-19 patients who have mild to moderate symptoms and are at risk of developing severe symptoms.
