INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the basis that Omicron and the
variant&s latest offshoots have likely rendered them obsolete.The two therapies & which are designed to work by binding to the spike protein
of SARS-CoV-2 to neutralise the virus& ability to infect cells & were some of the first medicines developed early in the pandemic, Reuters
reported.The virus has since evolved, and mounting evidence from lab tests suggests the two therapies & sotrovimab as well as
casirivimab-imdevimab & have limited clinical activity against the latest iterations of the virus
As a result, they have also fallen out of favour with the United States health regulator.On Thursday, WHO experts said they strongly
advised against the use of the two therapies in patients with COVID-19, reversing previous conditional recommendations endorsing them, as
part of a suite of recommendations published in the British Medical Journal.GSK (GSK.L) and partner Vir Biotechnology&s (VIR.O) sotrovimab &
which has generated billions in sales and became one of the British drugmaker&s top sellers last year & was pulled off the United States
market by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April.Given the United States had begun to question sotrovimab&s clinical
effectiveness against Omicron as early as February, the WHO&s realisation is coming a little late, said Penny Ward, visiting professor in
pharmaceutical medicine at King&s College London.Given the United States had begun to question sotrovimab&s clinical effectiveness against
Omicron as early as February, the WHO&s realisation is coming a little late, said Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine
at King&s College London.Regeneron and partner Roche&s (ROG.S) antibody cocktail casirivimab-imdevimab has also generated billions in sales
and was one of the United States drugmaker&s top sellers last year.Back in January, the FDA revised its stance on the treatment, limiting
its use to a smaller group of patients, citing its diminished potency against the Omicron variant.Both therapies continue to be recommended
for use by the European drugs regulator.Another COVID therapy that emerged early in pandemic was Gilead&s (GILD.O) antiviral remdesivir
The WHO expanded its conditional recommendation for the drug, advising that it can be used in patients with severe COVID as well as
non-severe COVID patients at the highest risk of hospitalization.There are a handful of existing COVID therapeutics that remain useful in
the fight against the virus, and others in development that are expected to also benefit patients.The post WHO ‘strongly advises against&
use of two COVID treatments first appeared on Ariana News.
