Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly said on Wednesday that its combination of two antibody drugs to fight coronavirus reduces the risk of hospitalization and death by 87%.
The finding is based on a study of 769 patients at high risk of COVID-19 aged 12 years and older with mild to moderate COVID-19.
The company said no patients who were treated with the combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab died. Four people in the placebo group died of coronavirus.
“I expect this data to continue to lead to greater use of antibodies,” said Daniel Skovronsky, chief executive of Eli Lilly.
“We have few other diseases in which we have drugs that can provide this magnitude of benefits.”
This was the second large, late-stage study to show that antibody therapy is effective in treating mild to moderate COVID-19.
The previous study, which was revealed in January, used a higher dose of medication and reduced the risk of hospitalization by 70%.
U.S. regulators first authorized combination therapy in February for use in patients with COVID-19 12 years of age and older who are at high risk for a severe case of the virus.
That month, the US agreed to buy at least 100,000 doses of the combination treatment.
With Post threads