A new monoclonal antibody drug has proved to be effective against the coronavirus omicron variant and omicron subvariant, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The agency has given emergency use authorization for the drug to be used as a treatment option for those 12 and older and weighing at least 88 pounds with “mild to moderate COVID-19.” It’s “not authorized for patients who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 or require oxygen therapy due to COVID-19,” the FDA says.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody — bebtelovimab — received FDA authorization for people who’ve discovered they’re COVID-19 positive and “are at high risk” for being severely affected by the virus, the agency said in a Feb. 11 news release. Additionally, it’s for those “whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options approved or authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.”
