GSK and Vir Biotechnology Launch ACTIV-3 Antibody Treatment Study Against COVID-19

GSK and Vir Biotechnology announced the initiation of the ACTIV-3 study in hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients. The Phase 3 study will investigate the efficacy and safety of the antibody therapy VIR-7381. GSK and Vir Biotechnology have reached an important milestone in antibody therapy aimed at preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in high-risk patients. In the ACTIV-3 study, part of the NIH-led public-private partnership ACTIV program designed to accelerate development of the most promising COVID-19 treatments and vaccine candidates, clinical conditions will be evaluated in 300 participants hospitalized with mild to moderate symptoms for less than 13 days who received either VIR-7831 antibody or placebo. Participants will also receive standard FDA-approved COVID-19 treatment throughout the study. Should the ACTIV-3 study yield positive results, the study will continue with additional participation of 700 individuals. Dr. Hal Barron, Head of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, stated: "As new cases and hospitalization rates in the COVID pandemic reach record levels, it is clear that the world needs multiple options to help combat this pandemic. We are working to prevent and treat the virus, in short to fight it, and developing various solutions. Our treatment option VIR-7831, which has the potential to neutralize the virus and kill infected cells while presenting a strong barrier to resistance, may benefit hospitalized COVID-19 patients where other antibodies have so far shown no effect." Ph.D. George Scangos, Chief Executive Officer at Vir, stated: "Recent data show that the neutralizing activity of antibodies may be insufficient to protect hospitalized adults from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19. We hope that VIR-7831's differentiating factors and broad anti-coronavirus activity will help these patients and prepare us for related coronaviruses that may emerge in the future."