Bebtelovimab for Covid: any experiences?

May 26, 2022 10:59 AM

My 82 yr old mother tested positive for Covid last week, had very mild symptoms that disappeared, then had mild symptoms again the last couple of days. We contacted her infectious disease doc, who suggested Bebtelovimab. (Paxlovid is not recommended.) I'm now trying to research Bebtelovimab, a drug I haven't heard of before, but one that does seem like it's FDA approved since February. Do any of you have experience or information to relate?
posted by StrawberryPie to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Because of the way monoclonal antibodies work, the US has gone through a bunch of them as COVID variants emerge—unlike the vaccine and Paxlovid, variants frequently have mutations that make existing monoclonal antibodies totally ineffective, since they're targeted very narrowly. Bebtelovimab is the latest one, and it's effective against the current COVID variants that are out there.

Monoclonal antibodies appear to be very effective in limiting the progression to more severe COVID, so I would definitely suggest my parents take them if they had a positive test and mild symptoms. You get one IV infusion over ~30 minutes or so and that's it; side effects are generally very mild.
posted by Polycarp at 12:11 PM on May 26, 2022

Bebtelovimab is a new version of the monoclonal antibodies treatment that showed promise during the last two years but it had to be tailored to the specific strain(s) of COVID, and this one seems effective against the latest variants. It is best for people with mild COVID but any progression could be dangerous. In other words, almost tailor-made for your mother. It is a treatment, NOT a drug like paxlovid. As @polycarp explained, it's an IV infusion and it is quite effective.
posted by kschang at 1:45 PM on May 26, 2022

I am high risk, couldn't have Pax, and just had a Beb infusion last Monday. Based on how sick I am with the Beb, and being vaxxed, and being boosted, I cannot imagine how bad it would have been without it. I had only been symptomatic for 24 hours and I had already developed an underlying bacterial bronchitis.

The only negative for me was that I did have to go to the hospital, and then be monitored for an hour and a half after infusion. I had no side effects from it, except a bruise from the vein the nurse rolled putting in the needle. I am still covid positive on day 7, but my pulse ox has never dropped below 90, and I was never in danger of needing hospitalization. I'm really glad that I did it.
posted by headspace at 1:04 PM on May 29, 2022

Update: she had the Bebtelovimab, and her only side effects seemed to be burning pain in the hands and feet. She has rheumatoid arthritis and is on a lot of medications for that and other things, so it's hard to tell if the drug, or a drug interaction, caused the pain—or whether she would have had the pain anyway for other reasons. Covid-wise, she continued to have minor cold-like runny-nose symptoms for another day or so after the Bebtelovimab, then those went away, and she tested negative 2 days later.

So, taking it didn't make her worse, and very likely got rid of Covid faster.
posted by StrawberryPie at 12:31 PM on June 15, 2022