Surveillance and Stewardship Approaches for COVID-19 Novel Therapeutics in England from 2021 to 2022 (ESPAUR Report)

The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) COVID-19 therapeutics programme was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care with the remit to evaluate the use and role of COVID-19 treatments. COVID-19 therapeutics data were assessed from two main data sources: novel therapy requests via Blueteq and medicines supply data via Rx-info. The five COVID-19 therapies in use in England between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022 included nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir, remdesivir, molnupiravir, sotrovimab, and casirivimab with imdevimab. During this time period, treatment requests for novel therapies against COVID-19 were submitted for nearly 52,000 patients in England. The UKHSAs COVID-19 therapeutics programme has been key to supporting the deployment of novel COVID-19 therapies in England by undertaking genomic, virological, and epidemiologic surveillance, through both national surveillance systems and academic collaboration. Effective therapies are particularly important for protecting the health of patients at greater risk of developing severe COVID-19. This national surveillance and stewardship programme was successfully rolled out at pace at the start of the pandemic and leads on work nationally to reduce the development of resistance. These findings were presented at the ESPAUR Report webinar on 23 November 2022.