Eli Lilly & Co. said its antibody-based drug Covid-19 has prevailed among many residents and staff of nursing and care homes, results indicating that the drug is supplementing vaccines as immunizations increase.
The drug, called bamlanivimab, reduced the risk of both staff and residents getting sick with Covid-19 by about 57% compared to a placebo, Lilly said Thursday. The effect was more pronounced in residents, the company said, reducing the risk of Covid-19 by 80%.
The findings indicate the potential for a new preventative weapon that could bolster the fledgling Covid-19 vaccination effort to stop the pandemic.
Lilly said it would ask US health authorities to extend permissible use of the drug to protect people in long-term care facilities where someone has recently been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The partial results came from a final phase, or phase 3, study conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health. Lilly disclosed the data in a press release and said it plans to publish the full results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.