INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Pharmacist Eli Lilly said on Thursday that his antibody may prevent COVID-19 disease in residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care settings.
It is the first major study to show that this treatment can prevent disease in a group that has been devastated by the pandemic.
Residents and employees who received the drug had an up to 57% lower risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to others at the same institution who received a placebo, the pharmacist said. Only among residents of nursing homes, the risk was reduced by up to 80%.
The study involved more than 1,000 residents and employees in nursing homes and other long-term care settings, such as nursing homes. The vast majority had a negative result at the beginning of the study. Some were assigned to receive the drug, which is administered intravenously, and others received placebo infusions.
The survey was conducted with the National Institutes of Health. The results were released in a press release, and the company said it would publish more details in a newspaper soon.
Among the nearly 300 residents who did not have COVID-19, four subsequently contracted the disease and died. Lilly said that they all received the placebo.
In November, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the emergency use of the Lilly antibody drug as a treatment for people aged 12 and over with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 that do not require hospitalization. It is a unique treatment.
Lilly said it plans to work with regulators to see about expanding authorization to prevent and treat COVID-19 at long-term care facilities, where vaccinations are already underway.
Experts say drugs like Lilly can serve as a bridge to help control the virus until vaccines are widely available.
Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been hard hit by the pandemic. In the United States, they represent less than 1% of the population, but almost 40% of deaths from COVID-19.
These long-term care locations have been given priority to vaccinate residents and staff with newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines began last month in locations across the country.
The two vaccines approved for emergency use by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses. The major drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens are giving vaccines to nursing homes in almost every state.
The companies said they hope to finish giving the first doses in nursing homes this month. Their vaccination programs in nursing homes are expected to end in February and March. Progress has been slower in other long-term settings, such as assisted living, where residents require less medical care than those in nursing homes.
There will still be a need for Lilly’s medicine in places like nursing homes, although vaccines are already being distributed there, said WBB Securities president Steve Brozak, who tracks the pharmaceutical industry.
But Brozak wondered how long the treatment could be effective with the emergence of new variants of the virus.
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