Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks argues that his company has ‘one of the newest product portfolios’ in the pharmaceutical industry amid the acquisition of Prevail Therapeutics.
The Eli Lilly antibody drug significantly reduced the risk of contracting symptomatic COVID-19 among residents and employees of long-term care facilities, the company said on Thursday.
The drug is being evaluated as part of a Phase 3 study involving 965 participants that was conducted in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the COVID-19 Prevention Network.
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Monoclonal antibody therapy, called bamlanivimab, is currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older and at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and or hospitalization. . The FDA said that this includes patients 65 years of age or older or who have certain chronic medical conditions.
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At the time of authorization, the FDA said the drug reduced COVID-19-related hospitalization or emergency room visits in patients at high risk of disease progression within 28 days of treatment. It has not been authorized for patients admitted to COVID-19 or requiring oxygen due to the virus. There has been no demonstrated benefit in hospitalized patients due to the virus.
In the last study, according to a press release posted by Eli Lilly, in eight weeks of follow-up there was a “significantly lower frequency of symptomatic COVID-19” in participants who received bamlanivimab compared to those who received the placebo.
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In a subgroup of nursing home residents, there was also a significantly lower frequency of symptomatic COVID-19 in those who received the drug compared to placebo.
Four participants who were in the placebo group died of COVID-19 during the trial period.
The company said the results reflect an up to 80% lower risk of contracting the virus.
“We are extremely pleased with these positive results, which showed that bamlanivimab was able to help prevent COVID-19, substantially reducing symptomatic illness among residents of nursing homes, some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Daniel Skovronsky , MD, Ph.D.., Lilly’s scientific director and president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said in a press release.
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“These data provide important additional clinical evidence on the use of bamlanivimab to combat COVID-19 and reinforce our belief that monoclonal antibodies such as bamlanivimab can play a critical role in changing the course of this pandemic,” he continued. “We are happy that bamlanivimab is now available as a treatment for patients at high risk of progression to severe COVID-19 disease or hospitalization, including those in nursing homes, and we look forward to working with regulators to explore the expansion of emergency use authorization. to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in these facilities. “