Biden Administration Orders 600k Doses of Monoclonal Antibody Treatment

The U.S. is buying another 600,000 doses of a monoclonal antibody treatment from GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology in efforts to increase treatment options.

As reported by The Hill, the treatment is the only one of three that is thought to work successfully against the omicron variant.

The deal brings the total number of doses purchased worldwide to 1.7 million, according to GlaxoSmithKline. The doses will be delivered throughout the first quarter of 2022.

The treatment, called sotrovimab, has become significantly more important since two other antibody treatments - from Regeneron and Eli Lilly - are thought to be less effective against omicron.

“Data from multiple pseudo-virus and live virus preclinical studies, generated by industry and academia, continue to demonstrate that sotrovimab retains activity against all tested variants of concern and interest,” George Scangos, CEO of Vir, said. “We are proud of our ongoing contributions to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic here in the US and around the world.”