The Biden administration on Friday announced an agreement to purchase 100,000 doses of Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody cocktail, which was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The move will increase the available offering of one of the few proven treatments for people with COVID-19. The antibodies are approved for use in patients who have a high risk of becoming seriously ill, but who are not yet hospitalized.
Under the agreement, the federal government will pay $ 210 million for the initial purchase of up to 100,000 courses of treatment of the therapeutic agent, which is a combination of the drug bamlanivimab, approved last November for high-risk COVID-19 patients, with a second drug. known as etesevimab.
The combination was approved for emergency use earlier this month, after the data showed it reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 70 percent.
The agreement includes flexibility to purchase a total of 1.2 million doses through November, but it will likely depend on the course of the pandemic in the coming months.
The government has already pledged to purchase 1,450,000 doses of bamlanivimab alone, including more than 1 million doses delivered, and an agreement to deliver 450,000 additional doses by the end of March.
The government has said it will provide neutralizing antibodies to patients at no cost of its own, although health care facilities may charge a fee for the administration of the product.
To receive therapeutic antibody treatment, patients should contact their healthcare providers.
Another antibody treatment manufactured by Regeneron has also been approved by the FDA. Regeneron supplies the federal government with up to 1.5 million doses.
But despite their effectiveness and federal efforts to encourage its use, antibody therapy has seen moderate demand.
Supply was initially limited, and getting the drug to patients is a complex undertaking. Since they are infusion drugs, antibodies must be administered in the correct environment. The window to administer the drugs is small and patients need a quick diagnosis.
Getting patients to an IV center or hospital is difficult, especially as the out of control pandemic is putting enormous pressure on hospitals and health workers. Experts have called for a better system to ensure that the drugs can reach the patients who need them most.
Monoclonal antibody treatments received a hit of publicity last fall when given to former President Trump
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The treatments were also given to high-profile Republicans and Trump allies, such as his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani
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