Optimizing the use of vilobelimab for the treatment of COVID-19

Introduction: On 4 April 2023i4 April 2023, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the use of vilobelimab (Gohibic(TM)) for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized adults when initiated within 48 hours of receiving invasive mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Areas Covered: Vilobelimab is a human-mouse chimeric IgG4 kappa antibody that targets human complement component 5a, a part of the immune system that is thought to play an important role in the systemic inflammation due to SARS-CoV-2 infection that leads to COVID-19 disease progression. Expert Opinion: A pragmatic, adaptive, randomized, multicenter phase II/III study evaluating vilobelimab for the treatment of severe COVID-19 found that patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and usual care who were treated with vilobelimab had a lower risk of death by day 28 and day 60 compared to those receiving placebo. This manuscript explores what is known about vilobelimab and explores how this treatment may be used in the future to treat severe COVID-19.