After Federal Government Restricts Monoclonal Antibody Drug, DeSantis Goes To Source

TAMPA, FL — Making an end run around the Biden administration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that the state has purchased 3,000 doses of a monoclonal antibody drug directly from the pharmaceutical company after the federal government began restricting Florida's supply of the drug.

Last week, the White House announced it put the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in charge of distributing the monoclonal antibody drug, Regeneron, maintaining some states, Florida included, were hogging supplies of the drug.

HHS said seven states — Florida, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Louisiana — were using 70 percent of the federal government's supply of the antibody drug, which helps boost the immune system so at-risk patients can fight off COVID-19. Those states are among the areas leading the latest surge in COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths; most patients in those states who are ill with the virus have not been vaccinated, health care officials have said.

In August, DeSantis began promoting the use of monoclonal antibody treatments for those diagnosed with COVID-19 who are at high risk of several illness, hospitalization and death.

At the time, Florida hospitals were being overrun with patients due to the introduction of the delta variant of the virus, which proved more contagious than previous variants.

In the month since, DeSantis has opened 25 free, state-run monoclonal therapy treatment centers around the state, maintaining that the treatment has resulted in 50 percent less hospitalizations.

Regeneron was the first monoclonal antibody treatment to receive an Emergency Use Authorization from the federal Food and Drug Administration.

DeSantis was obtaining the drug, produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, from the federal government, which purchased nearly three million doses of the drug to distribute to states.

Prior to the HHS taking over the drug's distribution, DeSantis said Florida was receiving 40,000 treatments a week. That number has dropped to 17,800 doses.

During a news conference in Tampa Thursday, DeSantis said he has ordered a similar drug, sotrovimab, produced by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology Inc., to help make up the difference. This monoclonal antibody treatment has also received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.

Nevertheless, he said he may still be forced to close some newly opened state-run monoclonal antibody treatment centers.

"We were upset at the initial cuts, and now it's been cut even more," DeSantis said. "The fact that the Biden administration is doing this is just wrong. We may have to collapse some sites or restrict the criteria beyond emergency use. Those are decisions that will be forced on us."

The tragedy, he said, is the drug has the potential to keep "thousands and thousands of people out of the hospital."

He said the state-run sites were providing 30,000 treatments a week and Florida hospitals were giving another 15,000 treatments.

"Even the Biden administration admitted when we first opened our sites that this was a treatment that was very underutilized," Biden said. "We've had strong demand for the drug because we're pushing it."

Biden introduced Charles Craig, a 40-year-old handyman from Apollo Beach, who tested positive for coronavirus and became very ill.

"My chest felt like I had a Sumo wrestler sitting on it," he said. He promptly got the monoclonal antibody treatment. "By the time I went to bed that night, I had no symptoms. Eight days later, I tested negative."

"It's helped a lot of people," DeSantis said. "It's clearly saving lives, clearly keeping people out of the hospital. People get better much quicker when they get this early treatment. We don't want to see this cut."

See related stories:

• FL May Sue Biden Over Vaccine Mandates: Attorney General
• Biden Administration Took Control Over Distribution Of Monoclonal Antibodies; Will It Impact Florida?