The following is a summary of “Real-world evaluation of bebtelovimab effectiveness during the period of COVID-19 Omicron variants, including BA.4/BA.5,” published in the July 2023 issue of the Infectious Disease by Molina et al.

Bebtelovimab is an anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody authorized to treat high-risk outpatients with COVID-19 active against Omicron lineage variants. Researchers sought to determine the efficacy of bebtelovimab in the actual world during Omicron phases BA.2/BA2.12.1/BA4/BA5. They conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection between April 6 and October 11, 2022, using vaccine and mortality data linked to health records. They matched bebtelovimab-treated with untreated outpatients using propensity scores. 

The primary outcome was 28-day hospitalization for any cause. Secondary outcomes included 28-day hospitalization related to COVID-19, 28-day all-cause mortality, 28-day emergency department visits, maximal respiratory support level, intensive care unit admission, and in-hospital mortality among hospitalized patients. They utilized logistic regression to ascertain the efficacy of bebtelovimab treatment.

Among 22,720 patients with SARS-COV-2 infection, 3,739 were treated with bebtelovimab, and 5,423 were untreated. Bebtelovimab was associated with lower odds of 28-day all-cause hospitalization (1.3% vs. 2.1%, adjusted odds ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.37-0.74, P<0.001), as well as hospitalization due to COVID-19 (1.0% vs. 2.0%, adjusted odds ratio: 0.44 [95% CI: 0.30-0.64], P<0.001). Bebtelovimab appeared to reduce the likelihood of hospitalization among patients with two or more comorbidities (P = 0.03). During the phase of the Omicron BA.2/BA.2.12.1/BA.4/BA.5 variant, bebtelovimab was associated with decreased hospitalization.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971223005258