U.S., Eli Lilly Forge Deal for COVID-19 Antibody Drug

The U.S. government has struck a $375 million deal with Eli Lilly for 300,000 vials of its investigational COVID-19 treatment, LY-CoV555 (bamlanivimab).

The FDA is currently reviewing Lilly’s application for Emergency Use Authorization of the neutralizing antibody as an early-stage treatment for high-risk patients.

Delivery will occur over two months, if approved, with an option for an additional 650,000 vials through the end of June 2021.

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the company will charge $1,250 per vial for the drug in “wealthy countries,” adding that a single vial will provide a full treatment. He described a tiered pricing system with middle-income countries getting a “steep discount” and the poorest countries paying “only marginal costs” by sourcing the drug through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

LY-CoV555 has shown mixed results so far in clinical trials. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has halted a trial of the antibody in combination with remdesivir after the trial’s independent data and safety monitoring board found no clinical benefit.

Lilly discontinued another trial of a different monoclonal antibody, LY3127804, as a potential treatment for COVID-19 in September. The antibody targets a protein linked with acute respiratory distress syndrome in pneumonia patients. The trial was halted because of disappointing early results.

Studies of Lilly’s monoclonal antibody products to treat COVID-19 show they have benefit if given on an outpatient basis, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in an online forum Wednesday hosted by JAMA Network. The treatments “are best given early” in the course of the disease, Fauci said. — Jason Scott