Long-Acting Antibody Combination Retains Neutralizing Activity Against Omicron Variants

Based on a new preclinical pseudovirus study, AstraZeneca announced today that the monoclonal antibody combination Evusheld retains neutralization activity against the emerging Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 (BA.4/5) variants assay data from the University of Oxford, located in England.

AstraZeneca's press release issued on May 25, 2022, 'these results are consistent with previous data from multiple studies showing that Evusheld retains potent neutralizing activity against Omicron BA.2, the current dominant circulating variant, and neutralizes all variants tested to date.'

John L. Perez, MD, MBA, MA, SVP, Head of Late Development, Vaccines & Immune Therapies, AstraZeneca, stated, "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 mutate rapidly."

"These findings further support Evusheld as an important option to help protect vulnerable populations such as the immunocompromised 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.

People at increased risk of exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus could also benefit from protection with Evusheld.

Emerging evidence indicates that protecting vulnerable populations from getting COVID-19 could help prevent viral evolution, an essential factor in the emergence of variants.

Evusheld, formerly known as AZD7442, is a combination of two long-acting antibodies - tixagevimab (AZD8895) and cilgavimab (AZD1061) - derived from B-cells donated by individuals previously infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Evusheld has marketing authorization in the EU and was granted conditional marketing authorization in Great Britain for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19.

And, Evusheld is authorized for emergency use for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 by the U.S. FDA.

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