Sorrento Therapeutics announced its COVID-19 treatment, Covishield, shows major progress in neutralizing Omicron and Omicron (+R346K) variants of SARS-COV-2.
Sorrento Therapeutics announced today that its COVID-19 treatment Covishield (STI-9167) shows significant progress in neutralizing Omicron and Omicron variants of SARS-COV-2.
Covishield is a neutralizing antibody designed to increase protein stability and reduce interactions with host Fc gamma receptors. Covishield was discovered by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and further developed by Sorrento.
According to the San Diego-based biopharma known for developing cancer treatments, “STI-9167 nAb is a potentially ‘Best-in-Class’ nAb against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and the first reported nAb with high potency against Omicron (+R346K mutation) and has demonstrated highly potent neutralization activities in vitro (IC50 of 25 ng/mL for Omicron live virus, 14.8 ng/mL and 23.9 ng/mL for Omicron and Omicron (+R346K mutation) pseudovirus, respectively), in addition to potent neutralizing activities against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and all of its variants of concern (VOCs).”
Aside from in vivo protection against Omicron, Covishield has also demonstrated the ability to prevent weight loss and reduce virus titers in the lungs.
Sorrento CEO and founder Dr. Henry Ji said that pre-clinical experiments showed the antibody was at least ten times more potent against Omicron than sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody-based medicine developed for people in the early stages of COVID-19.
Sotrovimab is the only authorized monoclonal antibody treatment that still works against Omicron. However, it is currently in short supply across the country.
Earlier this week, Sorrento announced the completion of enrollment for the Phase II study of Covi-Drops in the U.S. Covi-Drops is neutralizing antibody given in a single intranasal dose, the company’s bid for the first nasal drop treatment for COVID-19.
The U.K. Phase II study has reached the interim analysis threshold of 50% enrollment. According to the company, “Treatment in COVID-19 outpatients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms has reached the interim analysis threshold of 50% enrollment (n=175). In this study, outpatient adults received a single instillation of 10 mg or 20 mg COVI-DROPS or placebo with a randomization of 2:2:1. The primary efficacy endpoint in the U.K. study is viral load reduction from baseline and key secondary endpoints also are similar to the U.S. study. Unlike the U.S. study, this study uses a decentralized design where patients are assessed and treated in their homes. Covi-Drops has also been well-tolerated in this study.”
