Keeping tabs on Covid-19: battling Omicron, Merck’s antiviral

BioNTech and Pfizer's three shots for Omicron

Since the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled Omicron as the latest variant of concern, scientists have been attempting to find out if it's more transmissible than previous strains of the virus and whether it can evade immunity from vaccines. 

The good news is that BioNTech and Pfizer have announced that three doses of their vaccine can effectively neutralize the new variant, and an Omicron-based vaccine could be ready for distribution in March 2022. 

In slightly less good news, virologist Sandra Ciesek of the University Hospital Frankfurt has taken a more cautious approach, saying that the ability to mount an effective immune response in people who had received three shots was up to 37 times lower than to the Delta variant. 

Ciesek emphasized, however, that reduced protection against infection did not necessarily mean more severe illness. Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, has also said that "it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it” but added it was too early for any certainty. 

First antiviral pills from Merck and Pfizer 

Merck (known as MSD outside of the US and Canada), has produced molnupiravir, the first Covid-19 medication for patients to take at home. Data from clinical trials shows that molnupiravir can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in at-risk, non-hospitalized adult patients with mild or moderate Covid-19 by about 50 per cent. 

In November the UK became the first country to approve molnupiravir. Earlier this month the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory panel voted to enable emergency authorization of the drug, following a procurement agreement Merck entered into with the US Government under which the company will supply approximately 1.7 million courses. 

Merck has also entered into supply and purchase agreements with other governments pending regulatory authorization, as well as non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with generic manufacturers to make the drug available in more than 100 low and middle income countries. Overall Merck expects to produce 10 million courses of treatment by the end of 2021, with more doses expected in 2022.

Following closely behind Merck is Pfizer’s antiviral drug paxlovid. Research has found that it can reduce the risk of hospitalization or death in people with Covid-19 by 89 per cent. 

Pfizer is set to apply for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA, with the US Government already committed to buying 10 million courses of the drug. 

Lilly's antibody drugs approved for children

Two types of Covid-19 antibody medications manufactured by Lilly have been approved for use in children under the age of 12 in the US. 

Under the terms of the expanded EUA, bamlanivimab and etesevimab can be administered together to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 in patients from birth to the age of 12. 

Lilly’s research has found that when administered together the drugs build antibodies against the Delta variant, while scientists are working to understand if the same combination can work against Omicron. 

So far 700,000 patients have been treated with bamlanivimab or bamlanivimab and etesevimab together, potentially preventing more than 35,000 hospitalizations and at least 14,000 deaths.

Also in the news

• GlaxoSmithKline has announced that its antibody-based therapy made in partnership with Vir Biotechnology is effective against Omicron 
• Samsung Biologics is working with GreenLight Biosciences on a new Covid-19 vaccine candidate