The two treatments – which are designed to work by binding to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to neutralize the virus’s ability to infect cells – were some of the first drugs developed early in the pandemic. READ MORE: Global cases of COVID, monkeypox drop, but WHO warns against complacency The virus has since evolved, and growing evidence from laboratory trials suggests that the two treatments – sotrovimab as well as casirivimab-imdevimab – have limited clinical activity against the latest iterations of the virus. As a result, they have also fallen out of favor with the US health regulator. Story continues below ad On Thursday, WHO experts said they strongly advise against the use of the two treatments in patients with COVID-19, reversing earlier conditional recommendations that endorsed them, as part of a series of recommendations published in the British Medical Journal. GSK GSK.L and partner Vir Biotechnology’s VIR.O sotrovimab – which has generated billions in sales and became one of the UK drug industry’s top sellers last year – has been withdrawn from the US market by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) in April. 5:05 Learning about the bivalent vaccine Learning about the bivalent vaccine Since the United States had begun questioning the clinical effectiveness of sotrovimab over Omicron as early as February, the WHO’s realization is coming a bit late, said Penny Ward, visiting professor of pharmaceutical medicine at King’s College London. Trending Stories

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“Now that the WHO has issued this recommendation, it will be interesting to see how many other countries align with it,” he said. Regeneron REGN.O and Roche’s ROG.S antibody cocktail, casirivimab-imdevimab, have also generated billions in sales and were among the top sellers in the US pharmaceutical industry last year. Story continues below ad 6:26 Health Canada approves new childhood COVID vaccine Health Canada approves new COVID vaccine In January, the FDA revised its stance on the treatment, limiting its use to a smaller group of patients, citing its reduced potency compared to the Omicron variant. Both treatments continue to be recommended for use by the European Medicines Regulatory Authority. Another COVID treatment that emerged early in the pandemic was Gilead’s GILD.O antiviral remdesivir. The WHO limited its conditional recommendation for the drug, advising that it be used only in patients with severe COVID-19 due to its “moderate” benefit. There are some existing treatments for COVID that remain useful in fighting the virus and others in development that are expected to benefit patients as well. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)