Eli Lilly’s bebtelovimab is the only authorized monoclonal antibody that can neutralize all three of the omicron sub-variants that are currently circulating, according to a new study.
Ever since cases caused by omicron’s dominant sub-variant BA.1 declined in December, cases of two sub-variants have risen. The most dominant of the two is BA1.1, which now makes up 40% of all omicron cases sequenced globally. The BA.2 subvariant, meanwhile, only represents 10% of cases but is becoming more prevalent, investigators said.
In lab experiments involving 19 antibodies and plasma from vaccinated patients, all three variants proved strongly resistant to most of the monoclonal antibodies tested. Fully 17 were ineffective against the BA.2 subvariant. Bebtelovimab, which was recently authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration was the only one to have efficacy against all three.
Investigators also found that mRNA vaccine efficacy is reduced against all three sub-variants of omicron. But protection remained higher in participants who had received a third shot, they noted.
“The emergence of new variants is narrowing our treatment options and challenging the effectiveness of our current vaccines,” said David D. Ho, M.D., of Columbia University. “It is critical that we don’t relax prematurely and continue to devise novel strategies to contain this ever-evolving pathogen.”
Full findings were published in the journal Nature.
