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Antibody Combo Retains Neutralizing Activity Against Omicron Variants BA.4 and BA.5

May 26, 2022 • 3:43 pm CDT
by Ben Kerckx
(Precision Vaccinations News)

U.K.-based AstraZeneca announced yesterday that its monoclonal antibody (mAbs) combination Evusheld retains neutralization activity against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 (BA.4/5) virus variants.

According to non-peer-reviewed, preclinical pseudovirus assay data from the University of Oxford published on May 23, 2022, 'further support Evusheld as an important option to help protect vulnerable populations who are unable to respond adequately to COVID-19 vaccination and are at high risk for severe disease.'

Approximately 2% of the global population is at increased risk of an inadequate response to COVID-19 vaccination and may benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) with Evusheld.

This population includes immunocompromised people, such as cancer patients, transplant patients, and anyone taking immunosuppressive medicines.

Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimab) is authorized to help reduce the incidence of symptomatic COVID-19.

John L. Perez, MD, MBA, MA, Senior Vice President, Head of Late Development, Vaccines & Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca, said in a related press release, "By combining two antibodies with different and complementary activities against SARS-CoV-2, Evusheld was engineered from the start to outsmart the COVID-19 virus and to remain potent in the face of this virus' ability to rapidly mutate."

According to the U.S. NIH, mAbs effectively prevent infections caused by the SARS-CoV-2 beta coronavirus, including subvariants.

As of May 26, 2022, mAbs products are authorized by the U.S. FDA, the U.K., Canada, and Japan. 

Since September 24, 2021, the U.S. government has distributed about 7.9 million mAbs.

Breaking mAbs news is posted at CoronavirusToday.

Note: This announcement was manually edited and curated for mobile readership.

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