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The United States government announced plans to purchase sotrovimab, an investigational monoclonal antibody used for the early treatment of COVID-19, according to a press release from the drugmakers, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plc and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The contracts total approximately one billion dollars, according to the news release.
“Given the large number of patients who continue to become ill with COVID-19 across many regions in the US, there is an ongoing need for access to effective treatments. We are proud to work with the US government to help make sotrovimab available for these patients.”, Dr Hal Barron, Chief Scientific Officer and President R&D, GSK, said in a news release.
Nurse Mary Ezzat prepares to administer a Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot to Jessica M., Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, at UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. Jessica M. is a healthcare worker who is also immunocompromised. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham have taken steps to expand the use of booster shots to quell the recent surge in COVID-19 infections. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
(Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Sotrovimab was granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2021. Under the EUA, the investigational single-dose intravenous infusion SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody can be used to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and children 12 years of age and older, who tested positive for COVID-19, and are at high risk for developing severe cases of COVID-19 leading to hospitalization or death, according to the FDA website.
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“It gives patients a real heads start in fighting off the virus,” Bart Murray, Vice President of COVID Therapeutics at GSK told Fox news in an interview.
Murray told Fox news that patients who test positive…
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Source : foxnews
