The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a new monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19.
ABC News reports the drug, called bebtelovimab from Eli Lilly, is a monoclonal therapy meant for COVID-19 patients as young as 12 who are at high risk for getting severely ill and who were recently infected, to keep them from getting even sicker and keep them out of the hospital.
The authorization comes after months of explosive spread of the omicron variant has squeezed an already finite arsenal of COVID-19 medicines.
On the eve of authorization, the Biden administration announced it had purchased 600,000 doses of bebtelovimab for at least $720 million. The plan is to get roughly 300,000 doses out this month, and another 300,000 in March. The contract also includes a future option for 500,000 more doses, if necessary.
The authorization brings the number of treatments for omicron in the U.S. to four, though production is still ramping up.
Lilly’s new drug is authorized to be given as an intravenous injection from a health care provider — a notable change from the arduous hours long infusion that came with previous monoclonal antibodies, a process that requires a great deal of clinical manpower. It must be administered within seven days of symptom onset.
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