Drugs for autoimmune diseases can reduce the response of the vaccine.Antibody treatment is ineffective vs Brazilian variants

(Reuters)-The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific research on the new coronavirus and efforts to find cures and vaccines for the virus-induced disease COVID-19.

Treatment of autoimmune diseases can reduce vaccine response

According to new data, immunosuppressive drugs for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and ulcerative colitis can impair the body’s response to Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. In 133 fully vaccinated people with these conditions, antibody levels and virus neutralization were about one-third that of a comparative group of vaccinated individuals who did not take those drugs. , The researchers reported on medRxiv on Friday prior to the peer review. Alfred Kim, co-author of Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, said most patients in the study were “relieved to be able to initiate an antibody response in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.” .. According to Kim, it is not yet clear whether lower antibody levels reduce protection from infection and hospitalization. Of particular concern are a one-tenth reduction in vaccine-induced antibody levels found in patients who routinely use steroids such as prednisone and methylprednisolone, and B cells such as Roche’s rituximab (rituximab). It’s a one-36th reduction seen in depleting drugs. And Ocrevus. The decrease in antibody levels was milder with rheumatoid arthritis drugs widely used in the class known as TNF inhibitors, such as AbbVie’s Fumira (adalimumab) and Amgen’s Enbrel (etanercept). Antimetabolites such as methotrexate and sulfasalazine; JAK inhibitors such as Pfizer’s Xeljanz (tofacitinib), intestinal-specific agents such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Company’s Entyvio (vedolizumab), IL-12 such as Johnson & Johnson’s Stellara (ustekinumab) / 23 Inhibitor. ((()

Most antibody drugs are ineffective against Brazilian variants

According to laboratory studies, the coronavirus variant, known as P.1, first identified in Brazil, is resistant to three of the four antibody therapies licensed for emergency use in the United States. In in vitro experiments, researchers used the P.1 mutants in four currently used to treat patients with COVID-19 in the United States (Regneron Pharmaceuticals imdevimab and casirivimab, Eli Lilly and Co. Exposed to a variety of monoclonal antibodies, including. Researchers have found that imdevimab retains its potency. According to a peer-reviewed report available on bioRxiv and tentatively accepted by the journal Cell Host & Microbe, the other three neutralizing abilities have been “significantly or completely abolished.” Researchers also exposed P.1 to plasma from COVID-19 survivors and blood from vaccine recipients from Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna. Compared to their effect on the original version of coronavirus, plasma and vaccine-induced antibodies were less effective in neutralizing P.1. However, previous studies were even less effective against the B.1.351 variant, which was first identified in South Africa. This suggests that Brazilian variants may not pose as much threat of reinfection or reduced vaccine protection as South African variants, said Columbia University co-author David Ho. .. He said he needed real evidence to see the results of the lab. ((()

South African variants can “break through” the Pfizer vaccine

Israeli researchers have found that the B.1.351 coronavirus mutant found in South Africa can “break through” Pfizer / BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine protection to some extent. They compared nearly 400 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after one or two doses of the vaccine to the same number of unvaccinated similar people with COVID-19. The prevalence of variants in Israel is low, accounting for approximately 1% of all COVID-19 cases in this study overall. However, in those who received both vaccines, the majority of COVID-19 infections were caused by B.1.351. The “disproportionately high rate” of South African variants in the fully vaccinated group (5.4%) was “somewhat South African variants,” compared to the rate of the unvaccinated group (0.7%). It means we can break through. Vaccine protection. ” In a report posted to medRxiv prior to a peer review on Friday, Stern’s team targeted only people who had already been tested positive for COVID-19, not a general infection, so this study is optional. Community rates stated that they were not intended to estimate overall vaccine efficacy against variants. (((; reut.rs/32aqvt0)

Open tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl In an external browser with Reuters graphics on vaccines under development.