Eli Lilly Partners With Amgen to Manufacture Potential COVID-19 Antibody

Eli Lilly has entered into a global partnership with Amgen to increase supply capacity for Eli Lilly’s neutralizing antibodies as a treatment for COVID-19 patients.

The partnership will allow Eli Lilly to scale up production of the potential therapies should one of its antibodies be approved. The companies said they expect to be able to produce millions of doses of the antibodies as early as next year.

The two companies previously joined a pact with several other drugmakers developing antibodies to share manufacturing information, including AbCellera Biologics, AstraZeneca, Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline (DID, July 27). The Department of Justice said it would not challenge the sharing arrangement as a violation of antitrust laws.

Lilly’s announcement came just a day after the company reported that its lead COVID-19 monoclonal antibody, LY-CoV-555, reduced hospitalization rates by 72 percent compared to a placebo and helped clear the virus 11 days after patients received a single dose. The company is developing LY-CoV-555 along with Canadian drugmaker AbCellera. The antibody is currently in multiple phases of clinical testing (DID, Sept. 17).

Lilly is also developing another monoclonal antibody, LY-CoV016, in partnership with Chinese drugmaker Junshi Biosciences. That antibody entered phase 1 testing in China in June (DID, June 9).

In April, Amgen entered into a separate collaboration with Seattle-based Adaptive Biotechnologies to develop antibodies for treatment of COVID-19. — Jordan Williams