Preclinical Data Show Sotrovimab Retains Activity Against Omicron COVID-19 Variant

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology (VIR) have announced an update to bioRxiv, a preprint server, that showed preclinical data proving that retains activity against key mutations of the new Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, according to a statement from GSK.

“Sotrovimab was deliberately designed with a mutating virus in mind. By targeting a highly conserved region of the spike protein that is less likely to mutate, we hoped to address both the current SARS-CoV-2 virus and future variants that we expected would be inevitable,” George Scangos, PhD, CEO at VIR, said in the statement.

Sotrovimab demonstrated ongoing activity against all tested COVID-19 variants of concern and interest, as defined by the World Health Organization.

GSK and VIR are now completing in-vitro pseudo-virus testing to confirm the activity of sotrovimab against the combination of Omicron mutations and intend to provide an update by the end of 2021.

Reference

Preclinical data demonstrate sotrovimab retains activity against key Omicron mutations, new SARS-CoV-2 variant. GlaxoSmithKline. News release. December 2, 2021. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/preclinical-data-demonstrate-sotrovimab-retains-activity-against-key-omicron-mutations-new-sars-cov-2-variant/