The Omicron variant was detected for the first time in South Africa in November 2021 and has since spread to many countries. It is expected to become the dominant variant within a few weeks or months. Initial epidemiological studies show that the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the currently dominant virus (the Delta variant). It is capable of spreading to individuals who have received...

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 sublineage has been supplanted in many countries by the BA.2 sublineage. Although Omicron is responsible for less severe forms in the general population, immunocompromised people are still at higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. Several monoclonal antibodies are currently available in clinical practice as a preventive treatment for these patients....

SPK001, the monoclonal antibody developed by SpikImm, a biotech company founded by the Institut Pasteur and Truffle Capital, has demonstrated a potent and broad neutralization activity across all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including omicron (BA.1 and BA.2). Originally developed in the Humoral Immunology lab headed by Dr Hugo Mouquet at the Institut Pasteur (joint research unit Inserm),...

Several factors determine the evolutionary success of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. A recent publication looks into the factors influencing this success – the number of people that an individual with the virus infects in turn, the timing of these infections and the contact rate –, using mathematical modeling to help understand the characteristics of these variants.

Scientist at the Institut Pasteur- TheraVectys Joint Laboratory have demonstrated the efficacy of their lentiviral candidate vaccine “Lenti-COVID”, administered as an intranasal booster dose six months after primary vaccination with a messenger RNA vaccine, in a pre-clinical model. This intranasal booster induces protective immunity in the respiratory mucosa. These results pave the way for...

Following the release of the 2021 edition of the Institut Pasteur's Annual Report, here are some of the year's highlights. Twelve eventful months interspersed with highlightsmajor scientific breakthroughs and key events for the institute in all fields including COVID-19, cancer, neuroscience, genetics, vaccinology and antibiotic resistance.

The emergence of different variants of SARS-CoV-2 has produced a wide range of clinical profiles and symptoms in patients. For the first time, researchers at the Institut Pasteur and Université Paris Cité have demonstrated, in an animal model, a characteristic common to several SARS-CoV-2 variants: the ability to infect the central nervous system. The study confirms that SARS-CoV-2 is capable of...

Although the different SARS-CoV-2 variants currently in circulation are undoubtedly less severe in vaccinated individuals in the general population, immunocompromised people are at greater risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies currently offer the best approach, both as a preventive and curative treatment for these patients. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and...

Institut Pasteur Senior Executive Scientific Vice-President Christophe d'Enfert provides a brief, cross-disciplinary overview of 2021 covering capacity building, enhanced partnerships and future technologies.

As a first-line laboratory in the event of a health emergency, the Pasteur Center in Cameroon was naturally designated as a COVID-19 reference laboratory by the Cameroon health authorities in 2020. How did the Pasteur Center in Cameroon organize its response to this emerging novel virus at national level throughout the epidemic, and how is it monitoring the virus today?At the beginning of the...