Massachusetts Firm Designing Drug vs All COVID Variants

The Omicron variant has driven home the reality that COVID-19 may be with us for a long time. But if one of New England’s leading biotech thinkers is right, there could soon be a new way to fight it, Anissa Gardizy reported for Boston Globe.

Photo Insert: Tillman Gerngross, Co-Founder and CEO, Adagio Therapeutics, Inc.

The day after Thanksgiving, as reports of the variant were circulating, Tillman Gerngross’s team at Adagio Therapeutics ran a test that suggested the company’s experimental antibody treatment, which is still in clinical trials, would work against Omicron.

There’s a much bigger idea at stake: The therapy is designed to work against all variants of the coronavirus, and also could help prevent disease. Whether it will or not remains to be seen — it is very early.

But with questions swirling around how effective vaccines and treatments will be against Omicron and future strains, it’s a key moment for Adagio, which has positioned its antibody drug as a supplement to existing options.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic