Federal government caused monoclonal antibody shortage, says medical supplies CEO

The CEO of medical supplies company and monoclonal antibody distributor Dealmed says the federal government's takeover of the distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 has created shortages.

Dealmed CEO Michael Einhorn told NTD News that "relying on the government to determine who gets what… can be very lengthy in terms of time and oftentimes you have surpluses in certain areas and nothing in other areas."

"The process that we have now, which is practically a government takeover of these products, is not the solution and isn’t working," Einhorn said.

Private shipments of Regeneron and Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody treatments were paused by the Biden administration. Eventually, the federal government took over distribution, but Florida Gov. Ron Desantis accused President Joe Biden of having a "stranglehold" on the treatment by controlling shipments to the state.

"There’s been a lot of government intervention. I think that many people probably believe that government intervention often is the solution. We’re seeing it isn’t," Einhorn told NTD.

Einhorn said that because the government is distributing the doses, some places are receiving unneeded shipments while other locations need more antibody treatments. In an ideal free market, Einhorn explained that the supply and demand curve would fill the needs properly.