Finally one can fight! GlaxoSmithKline says its drug is effective for Omicron

Original title: finally one can play! GlaxoSmithKline says its drug is effective for Omicron
British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday that preliminary test data show that the new crown antibody drug sotrovimab developed by the company in cooperation with American partner vir is still effective against the new Omicron virus.
In an official statement, GlaxoSmithKline said that early laboratory test data showed that sotrovimab monoclonal antibody was effective against viruses carrying some landmark mutations of Omicron variant. The company is currently completing in vitro pseudovirus neutralization test to confirm that sotrovimab can neutralize all combinations of Omicron mutations. The new experimental results are planned to be released before the end of 2021.

George scangos, CEO of vir, said in a statement that sotrovimab considered the possible mutation of the virus at the beginning of its design, and the antibody targeted the unlikely mutation part of the spike protein.
Sotrovimab has been ratified in about 12 countries. The drug has been authorized for emergency use in the United States, which has paid nearly $1 billion for hundreds of thousands of doses of sotrovimab.
In Europe, the UK drug and Health Products Administration approved the use of sotrovimab on Thursday to treat high-risk people with severe coronary heart disease symptoms.
British regulators said the monoclonal antibody "is considered safe and effective and can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in patients with mild to moderate coronary disease infection."
Several pharmaceutical giants have been defeated
Before GlaxoSmithKline, the new crown drugs and vaccines of regenerative yuan and Modena had been defeated in front of Omicron.
American pharmaceutical giant regenerative yuan pharmaceutical company previously said that preliminary tests found that its new coronal disease antibody mixture was ineffective against the new strain (Omicron). This indicates that the company's therapeutic products may need to be modified if the new strain is widely spread.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new coronal disease antibody mixture from Eli Lilly is not so effective for Omicron.
St é phane Bancel, CEO of Modena, previously said that the effect of the company's vaccine in dealing with the mutant strain Omicron will be far worse than before. It will take several months for pharmaceutical companies to produce a new vaccine against the strain on a large scale.
Scientists said that Omicron posed a threat to antibody drugs manufactured in the laboratory and antibodies produced by vaccines, because the new strain mutated in the spike protein of the virus, where known antibodies are often attached.
It will take at least two weeks to create a complete version of the Omicron variant virus and test the antibody drugs against it. Scientists say they are concerned about the ability of the new strain to escape antibodies produced by vaccines, previous infections or drug treatment.
Skip virgin, chief scientific officer of vir, said in an interview earlier: "Omicron will not be the next Delta. However, we believe that the scope and number of mutations mean that the world needs to take Omicron very seriously."