Eli Lilly said Wednesday that the US government has re-upped its supply of the Covid-19 treatment bebtelovimab, which is the last monoclonal antibody or mAb treatment left to attack this latest strain of Omicron.
The US will pay $275 million for 150,000 doses of bebtelovimab, which comes out to about $1,833 per dose. Back in February, the US bought 600,000 doses for $1.08 billion, or about $1,800 per dose.
Of that initial tranche of 600,000 doses of bebtelovimab, authorized for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in those ages 12 and up, more than 490,000 have already been ordered by states, and more than 200,000 doses have already been administered, according to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Delivery of doses will begin immediately and complete no later than Aug. 5, Lilly said, noting an option for an additional 350,000 doses may be made available no later than Sept. 14.
While bebtelovimab is the last mAb Covid-19 treatment standing, the FDA this week also extended the shelf life on Regeneron’s mAb treatment, which doesn’t work against this current Omicron strain, and for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, which can be used prophylactically and does work against this latest subvariant.
