accines have rapidly improved the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic, but hundreds of people a day are still dying from the disease. That number could increase soon thanks to the highly infectious Delta variant, which currently makes up about 20% of U.S. cases — and is likely to spread quickly. One thing that’s desperately needed: effective treatments for people who do get Covid-19.
So far, one type of treatment that has proven to be the most successful is one that was designed by nature: monoclonal antibodies. When people are infected with Covid-19, nearly all of them produce antibodies against the disease, but no two people produce the same antibodies, which means that some are better than others at fighting the disease.
Hundreds of thousands of people infected with Covid-19 have been treated with antibodies since one was first authorized in the Fall of 2020. Nowmonoclonal antibody treatments that have been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA — and more are coming. But not all of these therapies are created equal. Some are supposed to only be used in severely sick patients, while others are used to prevent patients from getting that sick. Some can even be used prophylactically.
Co-developed by Eli Lilly and biotech company AbCellera, Bamlanivimab was the first monoclonal antibody for Covid-19 granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA on November 9th, 2020. A combination therapy of bamlanivimab and etesevimab was authorized by the FDA on February 9th, 2021. Despite the early success, these treatments have had a bumpy ride.
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