Eli Lilly’s Investigational Antibody Shows Promise as Outpatient COVID-19 Treatment

Eli Lilly has announced positive results from a phase 2 trial of its investigational antibody treatment LY-CoV555 as an outpatient treatment for mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Most patients who received a 2,800-mg dose of the antibody demonstrated near-complete viral clearance after 11 days, the company said. The trial enrolled just over 450 patients who either received a 700-mg, 2,800-mg, or 7,000-mg dose of LY-CoV555 or a placebo.

Only 1.7 percent of participants given the antibody were later hospitalized for COVID-19 compared to 6 percent of those on placebo — a 72 percent reduction in the hospitalization risk.