Federal regulators said they were suspending use of a monoclonal antibody drug known as sotrovimab to treat high-risk Covid-19 patients in the United States because it was unlikely to be effective against the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2. BA.2 is highly transmissible and is now dominant in the United States, four months after it was first detected in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated on Tuesday that BA.2 accounted for about 72 percent of new U.S. coronavirus cases in the week that ended April 2. Doctors treating high-risk patients can still use another monoclonal antibody drug, bebtelovimab, which is manufactured by Eli Lilly. There are also three antiviral treatments that have been found in laboratory tests to be potent against BA.2.

Source: New York Times April 06, 2022 10:04 UTC