US govt buys more doses of Regeneron/Roche covid antibody cocktail

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) will purchase additional supply of the casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail for use in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients to meet the federal government's Operation Warp Speed goals.

The government has said it will provide these doses at no cost to patients, though healthcare facilities may charge fees related to administration, says the developer of the combo treatment Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN), whose shares gained nearly 5% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

Under the new agreement, the government will purchase all finished doses of the casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail delivered by June 30, 2021, up to 1.25 million doses. Under a previous agreement, Regeneron is already supplying doses to treat around 300,000 people, bringing the total potential purchase to over 1.5 million doses. The treatment has been authorized by Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.