USA – To meet rising demand, GlaxoSmithKline and partner Vir Biotechnology are increasing output of their COVID-19 antibody treatment sotrovimab at a second plant.

The supply crunch is exacerbated further by the rapid emergence of the Omicron variant, which has rendered competing antibodies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly ineffective.

Sotrovimab is approved in a number of countries, including the United States, for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are considered to be at high risk of progressing to severe disease.

GlaxoSmithKline and Vir have released data from preclinical studies showing that their treatment retains in vitro activity against the full known Omicron spike protein, despite the strain’s many mutations, since the strain’s emergence in late November.

In lab studies, the GSK-Vir therapy outperformed treatments from Eli Lilly and Regeneron against the Omicron variant.

That means that only sotrovimab, one of the three FDA-approved antibody drugs for treating infected patients, is still effective against omicron. Evusheld by AstraZeneca is approved as a preventive measure for immunocompromised people.

The US government signed an agreement with the drugmakers last week to purchase 600,000 more doses of the therapy, sotrovimab, for an undisclosed sum.

GSK and Vir have stated that they expect to produce approximately 2 million doses globally in the first half of 2022.

Prior to the new agreement, GSK had delivered the 440,000 doses it had agreed to supply to the United States in 2021.

That supply is still being allocated to healthcare facilities by the government. According to the spokesperson, the company now expects to begin shipping the 600,000 doses in February and March.

Sotrovimab was previously manufactured in a single plant in Shanghai run by WuXi Biologics, but since the arrival of Omicron, GlaxoSmithKline and Vir have accelerated efforts to increase production with the addition of another factory run by Samsung Biologics.

While the Samsung facility is already contributing to global supply, it will likely be a few months before it is fully operational.

Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline has adjusted supply lines at a factory in Parma, Italy, where the active ingredient produced by the WuXi plant is converted into the finished product.

Other countries have also been snatching up Xevudy supplies. Canada agreed to purchase 20,000 doses just a few days ago. GSK also has agreements with Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and other countries. 

Both Regeneron and Eli Lilly have begun to develop new antibody treatments that may be able to neutralize omicron.

Meanwhile, Brii Biosciences of China is seeking FDA approval for its antibody combination of amubarvimab and romlusevimab, which was approved in China in December.

The company recently stated that its cocktail was also effective against omicron. The United States does not yet have a supply agreement with Brii.

Liked this article? Sign up to receive our regular email newsletters, focused on Africa and World’s healthcare industry, directly into your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE