Omicron Mutations defeated by this new Covid-19 anti-body treatment

New-Delhi: The emergence of the new Omicron variant has once again stirred a sense of fear among people. The mutant of coronavirus that emerged from South Africa is believed to cause serious symptoms.

GlaxoSmithKline plc, a British-American multinational pharmaceutical company has revealed that its COVID-19 antibody treatment is effective against the full combination of mutations in the new omicron variant.

After a detailed in-vitro test carried out, a pseudo-virus that recreates a synthesized version of omicron, found that sotrovimab, which is an antibody treatment, is effective against all the mutants of the virus and not just the key ones, informed the drug maker in a statement.  The drugmaker carried out the test on all 37 mutants identified to date in the spike protein from different parts of the world till now.

Given the less than a three-fold drop in neutralization during tests, “we are confident that sotrovimab will continue to provide significant benefit for the early treatment of patients hoping to avoid the most severe consequences of Covid-19,” said Vir Chief Executive Officer George Scangos.

Sotrovimab reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in people with mild to moderate Covid by 79 per cent in trials. The drug won clearance from UK regulators this month.

Sotrovimab is an FDA approved medication for emergency use to treat COVID-19. It is given to people 12 years and above who have been recently tested for mild or moderate coronavirus symptoms and have not been hospitalized. This drug is mainly given to people who have a high risk of developing coronavirus related complications due to added comorbidities like older age, obesity, or conditions like lung, kidney, or heart disease, diabetes.

Glaxo said last week the drug was effective against key mutations in omicron but the more recent tests provide more certainty it could hold up against the variant.