US Restricts Use of GSK/Vir’s Xevudy, Deemed ‘Unlikely’ To Help Against Rising Omicron Variant

Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline’s COVID-19 antibody therapy Xevudy (sotrovimab) is no longer authorized for use in eight US states, after the US Food and Drug Administration concluded it was ‘unlikely’ to help patients infected with BA.2, a new subvariant of the Omicron strain.

The loss of efficacy is a blow for the partners, as Xevudy had seen its sales take off after other COVID-19 antibody therapies, such as Eli Lilly’s combination bamlanivimab and etesevimab and Regeneron’s REGN-COV2 (casirivimab/imdevimab), were found to be ineffective against the original Omicron variant last year