COVID Quick Takes: Booster, mAb data show strength of existing tools

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) are continuing development of an Omicron variant-specific vaccine as planned, but new data from pseudovirus assays suggest development of the new vaccine may not be as urgent as feared. The companies reported that a booster dose may boost efficacy of the existing mRNA vaccine against the variant. Sera from participants one month after receiving the BNT1626b booster neutralized the Omicron variant to the levels achieved against the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein after two doses, whereas neutralization titers were reduced more than 25-fold against Omicron after two doses.

Amid the growing concerns over the impact of the Omicron variant on mAb and vaccine efficacy, new data from GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) and Vir Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ:VIR) suggest efficacy of Xevudy sotrovimab, a COVID-19-specific mAb, may also be maintained against the variant. In a preprint study published in bioRxiv, the companies disclosed that Xevudy maintained activity against the full Omicron spike protein including the 37 mutations identified to date in a pseudovirus assay. The data build on a preclinical study from last week showing that the mAb maintained activity against individual key mutations in the Omicron variant’s spike protein...