Monoclonal Antibody Retains Activity Against Omicron's BA.2 Sub-Variant

California-based Vir Biotechnology, Inc. recently announced preclinical data suggest that sotrovimab, an anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody, retains neutralizing activity against the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron.

The Company's press statement on February 9, 2022, indicated pseudovirus results are being shared with regulatory authorities worldwide.

The Company expects to publish data in the coming week, with live virus data to follow.

Recently, the U.S. NIH OpenData Portal reported (Feb. 3, 2022) Sotrovimab's current effectiveness against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 virus variants.

Sotrovimab (Xevudy) is authorized for emergency use by the U.S. FDA and supplied in several countries worldwide, including through national agreements in the U.K.,  Japan,  Australia,  Canada, Singapore,  Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.

Vir and its partner GlaxoSmithKline are also supplying sotrovimab to participating Member States of the E.U. through a Joint Procurement Agreement with the European Commission.

"Our view of the data is that they support the ongoing role of sotrovimab as a critical treatment in the fight against the continuously evolving SARS-CoV-2 virus," commented George Scangos, Vir's chief executive officer, in a statement issued on Feb. 10, 2022.

"We note recent conclusions from another lab, which state that no approved or authorized monoclonal antibodies for treatment retain activity against all subvariants of Omicron."

"We are therefore pleased to share that, based on our pseudovirus and extensive pharmacokinetic data, we believe that the 500 mg dose of sotrovimab is sufficient to retain activity against the BA.2 variant, just as it has against all other variants of concern and interest."

Sotrovimab is an investigational SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibody. The antibody binds to an epitope on SARS-CoV-2 shared with SARS-CoV-1, indicating that the epitope is highly conserved, making it more difficult for resistance to develop.

The FDA has issued a EUA to permit the emergency use of the unapproved product sotrovimab for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in patients 12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

Treatment benefits with sotrovimab have not been observed in patients hospitalized due to COVID‑19. 

Sotrovimab, which incorporates Xencor, Inc.'s Xtend™ technology, has also been designed to achieve high concentration in the lungs to ensure optimal penetration into airway tissues affected by SARS-CoV-2 and to have an extended half-life.

Vir Biotechnology is a commercial-stage immunology company located in San Francisco, CA, focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases.