FDA Gives Third COVID-19 Antibody Drug Emergency Use Approval
The Glaxo SmithKline logo hangs at the company's head office April 30, 2003 in London. Glaxo SmithKline, Europe's largest pharmaceutical company, announced that earnings per share (EPS) rose 15 percent and sales rose only two percent to $8.34 billion (5.22 billion pounds) due to the weaker U.S. dollar. The first quarter profits surpassed analysts' predictions and were credited to the company's cost cutting efforts. Warren Little/Getty Images

Another COVID-19 antibody-drug has been given emergency use approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The said drug was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology.

The latest approved COVID-19 antibody drug adds to the list of other FDA approved for emergency use.

However, the antibody-drug, Sotrovimab, is not allowed for patients who are hospitalized because of the pandemic. It is not also for use for patients who require oxygen therapy, according to the Associated Press News report.

The company noted that it plans to distribute the drug in the coming weeks. They also intend to submit a marketing application to the FDA, according to a CNBC report.

COVID-19 Antibody Drug

Last November, the FDA had granted emergency authorization for an experimental antibody treatment that was administered to former U.S. President Donald Trump after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The Regeneron-developed drug can be administered to people who are at risk of severe illness once diagnose with COVID-19.

The company had said that the studies suggest that the therapy is effective when used early after the diagnosis, according to a BBC News report.

The Regeneron treatment is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, which imitates a person's own immune response. It physically sticks to the coronavirus so it cannot get inside the body's cells.

The former president also cited the said therapy for helping him recover from COVID-19. However, it remains impossible to know for certain if it really did.

Meanwhile, in April, the FDA has revoked the emergency use of Eli Lilly's investigational therapy bamlanivimab.

An ongoing analysis showed that the emerging COVID variants are resistant to bamlanivimab alone, which could possibly fail the treatment, according to a Pharmaceutical Technology report.

The emergency use is revoked for the use of bamlanivimab and not for monoclonal antibody therapies and bamlanivimab plus etesevimab.

U.S. COVID-19

Currently, approximately 130 million adults have already completed their vaccine doses. The first doses were first given last December.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that another 70 million vaccine doses are currently awaiting distribution.

Andy Slavitt, a White House senior adviser on the COVID-19 response, described the developments as a major milestone in the country's vaccination effort.

The Biden administration had also confirmed that half of the country's adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to an NPR report.

Meanwhile, vaccinations for children 12 years and older have also risen after the FDA has deemed the age group eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Nine states have given at least one vaccine shot to 70 percent of their adult population.

Slavitt urged more people to get vaccinated, noting that one is at risk if they're not vaccinated.

Businesses and establishments are offering an incentive for people to get vaccinated, such as free doughnuts and free airline flights.

Another well-known incentive was in Ohio, where vaccinated people are entered into a $1 million lottery, named Ohio Vax-a-Million.

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