INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Pharmacist Eli Lilly said Thursday that his antibody drug can prevent COVID-19 diseases in residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care locations.
It is the first major study to show that such treatment can prevent disease in a group that has been devastated by the pandemic.
Residents and staff who took the drug had up to a 57% lower risk of taking COVID-19 compared to others in the same unit who received a placebo, the doctor said. Only among the residents of nursing homes, the risk has been reduced by up to 80%.
The study involved more than 1,000 residents and staff in nursing homes and other long-term care locations, such as nursing homes. The vast majority gave negative results at the beginning of the study. Some were assigned to take the drug, which is given by an IV, and others received placebo infusions.
The research was conducted with the National Institutes of Health. The results were published in a press release, and the company said it would soon publish more details in a journal.
Of the nearly 300 residents who did not have COVID-19, four later suffered from the disease and died. Lilly said everyone got a placebo.
The Food and Drug Administration in November allowed the emergency use of the antibody Lilly as a treatment for people 12 years of age and older with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 that do not require hospitalization. It is a unique treatment.
Lilly said she plans to work with regulators to see about extending the authorization for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, where vaccinations are already underway.
Experts said drugs like Lilly could serve as a bridge to help manage the virus until vaccines are widely available.
Nursing homes and other long-term care locations have been severely affected by the pandemic. In the United States, they represent less than 1% of the population, but almost 40% of deaths caused by COVID-19.
These long-term care locations have been given priority for vaccination of residents and staff with newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccinations began last month in locations across the country.
The two vaccines approved for emergency use by Pfizer and Moderna require two doses. The main CVS and Walgreens drugstore chains offer photos to nursing homes in almost every state.
The companies said they expect to complete the first doses in nursing homes this month. Their vaccination programs in nursing homes are expected to end largely in February and March. Progress has been slower in other long-term locations, such as assisted living, where residents require less medical care than in nursing homes.
Lilly’s medicine will still be needed in places like nursing homes, even if the vaccines are already distributed there, said WBB Securities President Steve Brozak, who is monitoring the pharmaceutical industry.
But Brozak wondered how long the treatment could be with new variants of the virus.
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