SNG001 & Paxlovid - BFFs???25 Jan 2022 09:54
From Dr Mary's study, shared today by Welsh Falcon (thank you mate!)
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.20.477067v1
'Most notably, treatment with interferon-a, interferon-b, and interferon-g
revealed that the weaker interferon antagonism by Omicron virus isolates translates
into a profoundly increased Omicron sensitivity to interferon treatment (Figure 1E).
Further experiments showed that antiviral interferon-b effects were further increased
in combination with nirmatrelvir (the antivirally active agent in paxlovid) and remdesivir
(Figure 1F).
So far, clinical studies reported mixed outcomes in COVID-19 patients
treated with different interferons [18-21]. Given the newly discovered substantially
increased interferon sensitivity of Omicron viruses, interferons represent a promising
option for the treatment of Omicron patients.
In conclusion, we present further evidence that reduced interferon-antagonising
activity explains at least in part why Omicron variant infections are inherently less
severe than infections with other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Most importantly, we here
also show that Omicron variant viruses display enhanced sensitivity to interferon
treatment, which makes interferons promising therapy candidates for Omicron
patients, in particular in combination with other antiviral agents.