(Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday that their combined antibody therapy to combat COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in a study of more than 750 patients with COVID-19 high risk.
It is the second major end-stage study showing that the combined therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is effective in treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.
The previous study, which published data in January, used a higher dose of the drugs and reduced the risk of hospitalization by 70%.
“I hope this data will continue to drive greater use” of antibodies, “said Daniel Skovronsky, scientific director of Eli Lilly.
“We have few other diseases where we have drugs that can offer that magnitude of benefits.”
U.S. regulators authorized the combination therapy in February for use in patients with COVID-19 12 years of age and older at high risk of developing serious complications. European regulators gave the green light to its use in March.
The United States agreed in February to purchase a minimum of 100,000 doses of the combination treatment.
Regulators authorized only bamlanivimab for use against COVID-19 last year and the U.S. government agreed to buy about 1.5 million doses.
Skovronsky said combination therapy has the advantage of offering greater protection against new strains of COVID-19.
A variant of COVID-19 originally discovered in Britain has infected patients in most states in the United States and is expected to become the dominant strain in the country. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
“We are confident that this combo covers all variants in the US,” Skovronsky said, adding that Lilly is studying additional treatment for the new COVID strains first identified in South Africa and Brazil, which have not become widespread. to the United States.
Skovronsky said Lilly is ready to manufacture 1 million doses of combination therapy in the coming months and is in active talks to provide governments around the world with treatment.
Reports by Carl O’Donnell and Michael Erman in New York; Edited by Lisa Shumaker