FDA authorizes new monoclonal antibody treatment to fight omicron
ABC News
It comes amid a scarcity of treatments that work against the explosive variant.
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a new monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, shown to hold up against the omicron variant and BA.2 subvariant.
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.
Lilly's previous monoclonal treatment was one of the two the government bought in bulk that have been shown to fail against omicron, leaving the federal government scrambling to stock up on functional omicron therapies. Meanwhile, the treatments that have been shown to work against omicron have been scarce -- forcing difficult choices about which patients in need should get that limited supply.
