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- An expert panel at the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of two treatments developed by Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK)/Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) for COVID-19 patients.
- In its guidelines published in the British Medical Journal Thursday, the panel has strongly recommended Lilly's Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib (Olumiant) in combination with corticosteroids for patients with severe COVID-19.
- The group also issued a conditional recommendation for sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody developed by GSK (GSK) and Vir (VIR), for patients with non-severe covid-19 at the highest risk of hospitalization.
- While the global body has already approved the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab with Imdevimab from Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN), it has found insufficient data to recommend one treatment over another from that class of medications.
- The panel also noted that the activity of these drugs against new variants of the virus, such as Omicron remained uncertain and said it would update the guidelines once new data are available.
- Read: Compared to rival monoclonal antibody therapies, sotrovimab has held up well against Omicron, according to early studies.