Study Shows Eli Lilly Drug Reduces Risk of Covid-19 by up to 80%

Jan 21

Results are in from a phase 3 study run by Eli Lilly and the NIH (National Institutes of Health)

The drug is called bamlanivimab. It was found to reduce the risk of Covid-19 to and staff and residents. Interestingly, it reduced the risk to staff by 57%, but up to 80% in residents (a high-risk category).

Bamlanivimab was given emergency use authorization (EUA) by the FDA on November 9th, 2020.

Eli Lilly said they plan to ask the FDA to expand the use of bamlanivimab to allow for protecting people in long-term health care facilities.

Lilly Chief Scientific Officer Daniel Skovronsky said, “We want to try to get this to people in nursing homes. It’s not an alternative for a vaccine. It’s for people who haven’t been vaccinated, and there’s an outbreak in their facility—this could be a last resort.”

Bamlanivimab is a monoclonal antibody. It’s designed to inject synthetic antibodies into your immune system. This is great for elderly people who have slower immune systems.

While some scientists think the monoclonal antibodies aren’t as good in the long run as vaccines, they’re still seen as an important stop-gap measure in the fight against Covid-19.

Here’s a one-month chart.