Health
Covid Variant Likely Resistant to AstraZeneca Antibody Drug, FDA Says
- FDA warns that XBB.1.5 is likely resistant to AstraZeneca drug
- Earlier variants hurt antibody treatments by Lilly, GSK, Vir
A vial of AstraZeneca anti-covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 antibody drug likely won’t work against an ascendant new variant, the US Food and Drug Administration said Friday, leaving high-risk people with fewer protections as mutations mount.
The variant, known as XBB.1.5, is the latest to wallop the US and now accounts for more than a quarter of US Covid cases. AstraZeneca’s antibody drug, Evusheld, was the last of its kind still authorized to prevent infections in high-risk people.