Health Canada issues treatment failure warning for COVID therapy due to BA.2 subvariant

TORONTO --
Well being Canada is alerting health-care suppliers that a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody remedy therapy might now not be efficient in opposition to the brand new subvariant of Omicron.


The company reported on Thursday that sotrovimab, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, "is unlikely to take care of efficacy in opposition to the Omicron BA.2 subvariant," and stated that the therapy exhibited "a discount in exercise" in opposition to the brand new subvariant.


Nonetheless, Well being Canada says sotrovimab can nonetheless be administered to COVID-19 sufferers who check constructive for the sooner subvariants of Omicron.


"Present knowledge signifies that sotrovimab continues to be efficient in opposition to the Omicron BA.1 and BA.1.1 subvariants," the company stated. "Native epidemiology and particular person publicity to variants ought to be considered earlier than use of sotrovimab."


Sotrovimab was approved for emergency utilized in relation to the pandemic final July for therapy of delicate to reasonable instances of COVID-19 in adults and adolescents 12 years of age or older who're at a excessive danger of hospitalization or demise.


The alert comes per week after the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration pulled its authorization for the remedy as a consequence of rising instances of the BA.2 subvariant throughout the nation.


Provincial well being authorities have already been pulling or discouraging the therapy, as a substitute recommending Paxlovid or Remdesivir.


The Ontario Science Desk advisable in opposition to utilizing Sotrovimab on April 1 and Alberta paused the use of the therapy on Wednesday. Saskatchewan additionally discontinued using sotrovimab on April 7 and B.C. solely recommends the therapy "as a last-line agent."

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT OMICRON?


With the emergence of a brand new COVID-19 variant of concern, labelled Omicron, CTVNews.ca needs to listen to from Canadians with any questions.


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