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FDA Halts Use of Two Treatments Ineffective Against Omicron

  • Antibody therapies from Regeneron, Lilly are paused by agency
  • Spike protein mutations thought to make drugs less effective
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ headquarters in Tarrytown, New York.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ headquarters in Tarrytown, New York.

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Updated on

U.S. regulators restricted the use of a pair of Covid-19 monoclonal antibody therapies after scientific evidence suggested they are unlikely to be effective against the omicron variant.

The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement on Monday that it had decided to limit access to the treatments, which are made by Eli Lilly & Co. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., amid the recent surge in omicron infections. The variant, which was first detected last year in southern Africa, now accounts for nearly all new cases of Covid-19 in the U.S.