Lilly Reaches Deal to Supply US With COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Bamlanivimab

Eli Lilly announced that it has signed a $375-million agreement with the US government to supply 300,000 vials of bamlanivimab, an investigational neutralizing antibody treatment for COVID-19. The company recently submitted a request to the FDA seeking emergency-use authorization (EUA) for bamlanivimab to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients, with Lilly noting that the government will accept vials of the therapy if the EUA is granted.

According to Lilly, the initial agreement is for delivery over the 2 months following an EUA. It also provides the option for the US government to purchase up to an additional 650,000 vials through June 30 of next year, under the same terms as the base agreement, subject to certain conditions including product availability and medical need in the country.

CEO David Ricks suggested that given the surge in COVID-19 cases, “bamlanivimab could be an important therapeutic option that can bring value to the overall healthcare system, as it has shown a potential benefit in clinical outcomes with a reduction in viral load and rates of symptoms and hospitalizations.”

Lilly said it anticipates manufacturing up to 1 million doses of bamlanivimab by the end of this year, with 100,000 doses ready to ship within days of authorization, for use around the world. The company indicated that supply of the antibody therapy will “increase substantially” starting in the first quarter of 2021, as additional manufacturing resources come online throughout the year, noting that its supply chain includes five active pharmaceutical ingredient production sites worldwide. If the FDA authorizes use of bamlanivimab, the US Health and Human Services department said the government-purchased doses would become available to the American people at no cost, although healthcare professionals could charge for administering the medicine.

The deal follows an announcement this week that US government scientists would be closing the bamlanivimab arm of the ongoing ACTIV-3 study after an independent data monitoring committee said the therapy, also known as LY-CoV555, was unlikely to be of clinical value among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Lilly is co-developing bamlanivimab with AbCellera.