Drug cuts COVID risk for nursing home residents -Eli Lilly
A trial of Eli Lilly’s antibody drug shows it can cut the risk of COVID-19 by 80 percent for nursing home residents, the company said on Thursday.
The nursing home trial involved both residents and staff - who were treated with either a placebo or the antibody drug called bamlanivimab.
After an eight week period, the residents were 80% less likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 if they were treated with the drug.
Bamlanivimab was given emergency use authorization by the FDA last October for non-hospitalized COVID patients.
…Although the need for such antibody drugs has dwindled as vaccines become more widely available.
Eli Lilly’s chief scientific officer said he doesn’t see bamlanivimab as an alternative to vaccines. But, he said the drug IS beneficial if there is an outbreak in a facility where the most vulnerable population resides.
The company said it will ask regulators to widen the drug's emergency use for people in nursing homes experiencing virus outbreaks.
