US secures $1bn of GSK-Vir Covid-19 treatment - report

The United States has signed about $1bn of contracts to buy the antibody-based Covid-19 treatment developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Technology of the US, according to a report.

GSK said the deal meant the number of doses of sotrovimab secured for treatment was more than 750,000 globally with supply expected to start on 17 December. The US will have an option to buy extra doses until the end of March 2022, Reuters reported.

Sotrovimab is authorised for emergency use in the US to prevent mild or moderate cases of the virus from getting worse. The companies did not say how many doses the US had secured after Canada bought 10,000 treatments and the EU secured up to 220,000.

The treatment cuts the risk of hospitalisation or death by 79% in adults with mild-to-moderate Covid-19.

"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's chief executive George Scangos said in a statement.