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BRUSSELS, July 28 (Reuters) - The European Union has signed
a contract with GlaxoSmithKline for the supply of up to
220,000 treatments of its investigational monoclonal antibody
therapy sotrovimab against COVID-19, it said on Wednesday.
The drug, which is developed together with U.S. firm Vir
Biotechnology, can be used for the treatment of
high-risk coronavirus patients with mild symptoms who do not
require supplemental oxygen, according to the Commission.
The deal is a boost to GSK work on potential treatments for
COVID-19 after the company played a limited role in the
development of vaccines. Rather than making its own coronavirus
shot, GSK has focused on supplying its booster to other
developers and has partnered with Sanofi to develop a
jab.
GSK confirmed the deal in a statement on Wednesday, saying
it represented "a crucial step forward for treating cases of
COVID-19" in Europe.
The drug is currently being assessed by the European
Medicines Agency (EMA) under a rolling review.
It has received emergency authorisation in the United States
to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients who are at high risk
of developing a severe infection.
The contract has been backed by 16 of the 27 EU states,
which can buy the drug only after it is approved by EMA or by
national drug regulators. The price agreed for potential
purchases has not been disclosed. A spokesman for the Commission
declined to comment on the matter.
Monoclonal antibodies mimic natural antibodies that the body
generates to fight infection.
The deal with GSK follows a contract the EU signed in April
with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche to secure about
55,000 doses of a potential treatment based on a cocktail of
monoclonal antibodies developed by Roche together with U.S.
drugmaker Regeneron.
Apart from monoclonal treatments, the only other anti-COVID
drug the EU has bought is Gilead's remdesivir, an
antiviral medicine. Last year, the EU reserved half a million
courses after the drug obtained a conditional EU approval.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio with additional reporting by
Jo Mason, editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Heinrich)