Benzinga | Dec 16, 2021 01:27PM EST

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Antibody Effective Against Omicron Variant

New preclinical data released by AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ:AZN) shows that its long-acting antibody Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab) works against the Omicron variant.

* The early data showed that pseudovirus testing of the full omicron variant spike against the AstraZeneca mAb combo adds to the growing body of preclinical evidence demonstrating that it "retains activity against all tested variants of concern to date."

* Related Link: AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Therapy Wins FDA Approval As First Antibody To Prevent Infection In Immunocompromised.

* Evusheld Inhibitory Concentration 50 (IC50), a measure of neutralizing potency of an antibody, was 171 ng/ml and 277 ng/ml in two confirmatory tests, within the range of neutralizing titers found previously infected individuals.

* The therapy's IC50 for the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 was approximately 1.3 ng/ml and 1.5 ng/ml, respectively.

* Meanwhile, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), which said earlier that its mAb combo doesn't fare well against Omicron, today announced that its multiple next-gen mAbs from its collection of mAbs targeting SARS-CoV-2 are active against the omicron and delta variants, as well as other variants of concern.

* Price Action: AZN shares are up 2.20% at $56.94 during the market session on the last check Thursday.