Lilly's neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) receives FDA emergency use authorization for the treatment of recently diagnosed COVID-19http://lilly.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=9042&item=138119INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Eli Lilly and Company's (NYSE: LLY) investigational neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg. Bamlanivimab is authorized for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with a positive COVID-19 test, who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. Bamlanivimab should be administered as soon as possible after a positive COVID-19 test and within 10 days of symptom onset. The authorization allows for the distribution and emergency use of bamlanivimab, which is administered via a single intravenous infusion.
"This emergency authorization allows us to make bamlanivimab available as a COVID-19 treatment for recently diagnosed, high-risk patients – adding a valuable tool for doctors fighting the now-increasing burden of this global pandemic," said David A. Ricks, Lilly's chairman and CEO. "The rapid development and availability of bamlanivimab could not have been achieved without the relentless work of our Lilly team, collaboration across the industry and the urgent work being done by the government to ensure appropriate allocation to patients who need it the most."
This is akin to the Regeneron antibody treatment Trump received. Regeneron will probably be receiving an EUA for their treatment very soon. The best time for these treatments to be administered is soon after diagnosis, before the virus infection has gotten a firm hold. The antibody treatment is like fast-forwarding the patient's immune system by a couple of weeks, the time it would take the patient's immune system to produce that many antibodies. While antibody treatments do not stimulate the immune system to produce long-lasting antibodies and T-cells, that may still happen so that the patient will also have some measure of long-lasting immunity by unaided (other than for staying alive) natural means.
