Regeneron PharmaceuticalsAfter confirming that the current Covid-19 cocktail had diminished its effectiveness against this highly mutated strain, the company is now developing new antibodies.

CNBC spoke with CEO Leonard Schleifer on Thursday, stating that Regeneron will conduct tests on new antibodies within the first quarter in 2022. Schleifer indicated that Regeneron was working closely with FDA to ensure the approval of the next generation anti-bodies as soon as possible.

Schleifer stated that “I believe we have to figure out how we can get it to patients on large scales before the next variant comes up.” Squawk Box. “We don’t want our tail to be chased here.”

Schleifer indicated that current antibodies are still effective against the delta virus. A wave of Delta infections has overwhelmed hospitals from the Northeast to the Great Lakes. Health officials fear that the U.S.’s winter season will bring a new wave of influenza and omicron infection to the healthcare system.

Antibody treatments can play an important role in decreasing hospitalizations, and easing stress within the health-care system.

Schleifer explained that “it’s possible delta will surge”, the flu will surge and so will Omicron. We’ll need to have a complete toolkit.

The intravenous injection of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail by Regeneron is used. The antibody cocktail is designed to block the virus from invading human cells. The pandemic has seen significant mutations to the spike protein. There are more than 30 mutations in the spike variant for omicron.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky claimed Wednesday that omicron accounts for only 3% of all Covid cases. Walensky however stated that the CDC believes the variant is responsible for as much as 13% of Covid deaths in New York State and New Jersey. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization stated that omicron has spread faster than ever before.

Columbia scientist David Ho, along with a group of scientists conducted a study that found all four current antibody cocktails were severely affected by omicron. The result was “likely to abolish or impair their efficacy.” Pre-print means that the study has yet to be peer reviewed.

Merck and Pfizer are creating oral antiviral tablets to stop hospitalizations from Covid. Pfizer’s pill prevented hospitalizations by nearly 90%, according to a final analysis. Merck’s pill was able to reduce hospitalizations by around 30% during its clinical trials. Both firms have applied to the FDA for authorization of the treatment on an urgent basis.