Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody already approved for mild to moderate COVID-19 in several countries gets approval by MHRA in the UK. This antibody was intelligently designed with a mutating virus in mind. A highly conserved region of the spike protein was targeted that is less likely to mutate, with a hope to address both the previous and current varijante of SARS-CoV-2 virus (Omicron) and the future varijante, that would be inevitable.
Xeduvy (sotrovimab), a monoklonsko antitijelo made in collaboration between GSK and Vir Biotechnology which has already been approved for mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in several countries (Australia, Canada, USA), was recently given market authorization by MHRA, UK1 za primjenu kod pacijenata oboljelih od COVID-19 unutar 5 dana od početka infekcije. Utvrđeno je da je siguran i učinkovit te je smanjio rizik od hospitalizacije za 79%. Ključna značajka sotrovimaba je da je usmjeren na visoko konzervirano područje šiljastog proteina SARS-CoV-2, za koje je manja vjerojatnost da će mutirati. Ova regija SARS-CoV-2 dijeli se sa SARS-CoV-1 (virusom koji uzrokuje SARS)2, indicating that the region is highly conserved, thereby making it more difficult for resistance to develop. This feature makes sotrovimab to work against all the varijante of COVID-19 available so far, including omikron. It should also work on any future varijante as well, as long as the mutations do not occur in the conserved region3 šiljastog proteina SARS-CoV-2, koji do sada nije viđen.
Sotrovimab can thus act as a magic bullet against the all known and future unknown varijante (that are inevitable as virus accumulates more mutations by higher transmission) of COVID-19. The principle of developing sotrovimab by targeting the conserved region of the spike protein, can be exploited for further development of monoclonal antibodies and vaccines against COVID-19.
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Reference:
- GSK 2021. Priopćenja za javnost – MHRA daje uvjetnu dozvolu za stavljanje u promet1 za liječenje COVID-19 Xevudy (sotrovimab). Objavljeno 02. prosinca 2021. Dostupno na https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/mhra-grants-conditional-marketingauthorisation1-for-covid-19-treatment-xevudy-sotrovimab/
- GSK 2021. Priopćenja za tisak – Pretklinički podaci pokazuju da sotrovimab zadržava aktivnost protiv ključnih Omicron mutacija, nove varijante SARS-CoV-2. Objavljeno 02. prosinca 2021. Dostupno na https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/preclinical-data-demonstratesotrovimab-retains-activity-against-key-omicron-mutations-new-sars-cov-2-variant/
- Pinto, D., Park, YJ., Beltramello, M. sur. Unakrsna neutralizacija SARS-CoV-2 ljudskim monoklonskim SARS-CoV antitijelom. Priroda 583, 290-295 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2349-y
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