Last checked at 
* Globally more than 750,000 doses of treatment secured
* U.S. supply expected by mid-December
* U.S. gave the drug emergency use approval in May
(Writes through with detail)
By Pushkala Aripaka
Nov 17 (Reuters) - The United States has signed contracts
worth about $1 billion for doses of the antibody-based COVID-19
treatment from Britain's GSK and U.S.-based Vir
Biotechnology, as countries seek to secure promising
options beyond vaccines.
The drugmakers said on Wednesday the U.S. orders bring the
total number of doses to be supplied to more than 750,000
globally, without specifying how many doses of the treatment,
sotrovimab, the U.S. government had signed up for.
However, other public deals for the drug include 10,000
doses for Canada https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/gsk-supply-10000-doses-covid-19-drug-canada-2021-10-04
and up to 220,000 doses for the European Union https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eu-signs-deal-with-gsk-supply-potential-covid-drug-2021-07-28.
Values of those orders have not been disclosed.
U.S. deliveries of the treatment, branded Xevudy, are
expected by Dec. 17 and the government will also have an option
to buy more doses through March 2022, GSK and Vir said in their
joint statement.
While vaccines remain at the heart of the long-term fight
against the COVID-19 pandemic, treatments including
game-changing antiviral pills from Merck and Pfizer
, offer options to contain infections and save lives.
Pfizer said on Tuesday it was seeking U.S. authorisation of
its experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill that cut the chance of
hospitalization or death for adults at risk of severe disease by
89% in a clinical trial.
GSK-Vir's sotrovimab has shown to reduce that risk by 79% in
trials https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/study-confirms-gsk-vir-antibody-drug-reduces-hospitalization-death-covid-19-2021-06-21.
Unlike oral options from Merck and Pfizer, sotrovimab is
given via an infusion. It belongs to a class of medicines called
monoclonal antibodies which are lab-generated compounds that
mimic the body's natural defences.
The therapy was authorised for emergency use https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-gives-emergency-use-approval-gsk-vir-covid-19-antibody-drug-2021-05-26
in the United States in May to prevent mild or moderate cases
of COVID-19 from worsening. The European regulator has given its
go-ahead for use by member states, although EU-wide approval is
still pending.
"Given ongoing evidence, which demonstrates its ability to
maintain activity against the tested circulating variants of
concern, including Delta, we are confident sotrovimab will
continue to be important," Vir Chief Executive George Scangos
said.
Last week, GSK and Vir said the antibody treatment was shown
in a trial to work as well when given as a shot in the arm when
administered via the standard infusion, potentially offering
more convenience.
Sotrovimab brought in sales https://www.gsk.com/media/7228/q3-2021-results-announcement.pdf
of 130 million pounds ($175 million) for GSK in the first nine
months of 2021.
Similar products are offered or being developed by Eli Lilly
, Regeneron, AstraZeneca and Celltrion
.
Last month U.S. authorities said the government would
control distribution https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/govt-control-distribution-gskvir-covid-19-antibody-us-fda-2021-10-08
of sotrovimab in the country.
($1 = 0.7427 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips, Edmund Blair and Angus MacSwan)
