GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology have announced a joint procurement agreement with the European Commission for the supply of up to 220,000 doses of sotrovimab to treat Covid-19 patients.
Developed together with Vir Biotechnology, sotrovimab is an investigational single-dose SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody used to treat Covid-19 patients aged 12 years and above and patients who do not require oxygen supplementation but may progress to severe disease.
The deal allows the participating European Union (EU) member states to purchase sotrovimab, after receiving local emergency authorisation or authorisation at the EU level.
The drug is currently being assessed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under a rolling regulatory review.
As part of its Covid-19 Therapeutics Strategy, sotrovimab is also included in the European Commission’s portfolio of promising candidate therapies.
GSK Europe senior vice president George Katzourakis said: “This agreement with the European Commission represents a crucial step forward for treating cases of COVID-19 in participating EU Member States, as it enables access to sotrovimab for high-risk patients who have contracted the virus.
“As the COVID-19 landscape continues to evolve and we meet new challenges – such as the Delta variant spreading across the globe – there remains an urgent need for treatment options to help those who do get sick to potentially avoid hospitalisation or death.”
The company said that they have also secured agreements to supply sotrovimab with a number of governments across the world.
The drug has already received emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 patients who are at high risk.
It has also been authorised for emergency use in Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Bahrain.