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A new antibody drug that targets the omicron variant has been licenced by US health officials, marking a significant step toward replenishing the country’s COVID-19 arsenal. The Eli Lilly drug has been licenced by the FDA for adults and adolescents with mild to moderate COVID-19. After testing revealed that Lilly’s previous antibody therapy was ineffective against the dominant omicron type, the company said late last year that it was working on a new treatment.
Prior to the authorisation, the Biden administration ordered 600,000 pills and will begin sending first supplies to state health authorities for distribution.
Dr. Patricia Cavazzoni, FDA’s drug centre director, called it “an crucial step in fulfilling the need for more tools to treat patients as new variations of the virus continue to arise.”
The FDA statement came after it was discovered that the two most commonly used monoclonal antibody treatments in the United States were ineffective against omicron. The Lilly medicine appears to be effective against the omicron BA.2 mutation, according to research.
The contract for Lilly’s new medication, bebtelovimab, pronounced “beb-teh-LO-vi-mab,” is worth at least $720 million, according to the company.
Monoclonal antibodies created in a lab operate as a stand-in for the immune system of the human body, blocking invading viruses. The drugs, which are given via IV or injection, are supposed to be utilised early in an illness.
However, the FDA cancelled Regeneron’s and Lilly’s emergency use authorizations late last month. When the two drugs didn’t work against omicron, doctors were at a loss for what to do.
Alternative drugs, such as antiviral meds from Pfizer and Merck, have been hard to come by. Antibody drug developed by GlaxoSmithKline is still effective against omicron.
COVID-19 therapies like as monoclonal antibodies, according to scientists, are not a substitute for immunisation.
The government will receive around 300,000 treatment courses of the new antibody medicine in February and another 300,000 in March under the terms of the US contract with Lilly.
