(Reuters) – AstraZeneca, NASDAQ:, said that its anti-covid-19 antibody-based treatment was able to neutralize Omicron coronavirus variants in independent laboratory studies. This included the potentially contagious BA.2 subvariant.

Data from the study https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.17.484787v1 by the Washington University showed the therapy reduced the amount of virus detected in samples of all tested Omicron subvariants in mice lungs, the London-listed drugmaker said https://www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/medical-releases/evusheld-long-acting-antibody-combination-retains-neutralising-activity-against-omicron-variants-including-ba2-in-new-independent-studies.html on Monday. This study is still being peer-reviewed.

Evusheld was evaluated against Omicron’s BA.1, BA.1.1 and BA.2 subvariants. It was found to reduce inflammation in the lungs.

John Perez, senior executive at AstraZeneca said that Evusheld was a promising option for protecting vulnerable patients like the immunocompromised. They could also face adverse outcomes if infected by COVID-19.

According to the World Health Organization, figures showing an increase of COVID-19-related cases worldwide last week could be indicative of a larger problem. Omicron and BA.2 variations have been spreading amid the relaxations in testing and restriction.

Vaccines depend on a healthy immune system for the development of targeted antibodies and infected cells. However, Evusheld is made from lab-made antibodies that can linger within the body for several months in order to stop the spread of the virus.

These results follow the approval of Evusheld in Britain last week for prevention of infections in adult with low immune responses. Evusheld currently is under review in Europe and has been authorized by the United States.