Eli Lilly & Co. said its antibody-based drug prevented Covid-19 among many residents and nursing home staff and assisted living facilities, results suggesting the drug complements vaccines while increasing inoculations.
The drug, called bamlanivimab, reduced the risk that staff and residents could get sick with Covid-19 by 57% compared to a placebo, Lilly said Thursday. The effect was most pronounced among residents, the company said, with an 80% reduction in the risk of Covid-19.
The findings show the potential of a new preventative weapon that could increase the new vaccination effort against Covid-19 to curb the pandemic.
Lilly said she would ask U.S. health regulators to expand the drug’s authorized use to include the protection of people in long-term care centers where someone has recently been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The partial results came from a study of the last phase, or phase 3, carried out in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health. Lilly disclosed the data in a press release and said she plans to publish the full results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.