February 11, 2022

The California Biotechnology Foundation is committed to keeping you up to date about COVID-19 testing, treatment and prevention advancements. The following resources track what progress has been made as of February 11, 2022. Notable advancements include:

• Eli Lilly received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for their monoclonal antibody drug treatment against COVID-19 which has been found to be potent against the Omicron variant
• Novartis and Molecular Partners AG are seeking Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their antiviral therapeutic developed to treat COVID-19

Recent News

• A monoclonal antibody drug from Eli Lilly that has promise against Omicron gets emergency authorization.
  New York Times – February 11, 2022
  With COVID-19 treatments still in short supply in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization to a new monoclonal antibody drug that has been found in the laboratory to be potent against the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The Biden administration says it will make the therapy immediately available to the states, free of charge. It is meant to be given intravenously by a health care provider, typically at a clinic or hospital.
• Novartis-Partnered COVID-19 Antiviral Seeks Emergency Use Authorization
  BioSpace – February 10, 2022
  One month after posting positive Phase II data, Novartis and Molecular Partners AG are seeking Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an antiviral therapeutic candidate developed to treat COVID-19.
• GSK-Vir therapy has neutralising activity against Omicron sub-variant, data shows
  Reuters – February 10, 2022
  An antibody-based COVID-19 therapy developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology retains neutralising activity against the emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to data from a laboratory study.
• Babies born to COVID-vaccinated moms have antibodies at 6 months
  CIDRAP – February 8, 2022
  A small Massachusetts General Hospital–based study in JAMA shows more lasting antibodies in infants after COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, compared with infants whose mothers had natural COVID-19 infections during pregnancy but were not vaccinated.
• Celltrion races inhaled COVID-19 antibody therapy into phase 3 to counter omicron
  Fierce Pharma – February 7, 2022
  Celltrion’s inhaled COVID-19 antibody drug therapy is moving into phase 3. Ten weeks after outlining plans to accelerate the program in response to omicron, Celltrion has filed an IND to study the therapy in a trial of 2,200 patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

Rely on California Biotechnology Foundation to monitor breaking news and provide updates on the latest advancements in COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments.

Stay informed on the latest news and trends on the economic and health benefits of this industry by visiting the new CABiotech.org

If you have any questions about informational briefings contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916)764-2434 or [email protected].