Regeneron COVID-19 antibody treatment has diminished potency against Omicron
Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody treatment, REGEN-COV, has diminished potency against Omicron, the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC), the company said in a news release.
REGEN-COV remains effective against Delta.
However, the company also said that it has “multiple ‘next generation’ monoclonal antibodies” that it anticipates bringing to market next year, pending regulatory approval, that would be active against Omicron, Delta and other variants.
REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies that was designed specifically to block infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The two virus-neutralizing antibodies that form the cocktail bind non-competitively to the receptor binding domain of the virus's spike protein, which diminishes the ability of mutant viruses to escape.
REGEN-COV has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a post-exposure prophylaxis in people at high risk for severe COVID-19, for use in patients who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 or require oxygen therapy, or for people currently on routine oxygen therapy.
