HHS Limits Use of Eli Lilly’s COVID -19 Antibody in Three States

HHS announced that it will restrict distribution of Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody therapy, bamlanivimab, in three states because of concerns about its effectiveness against a variant strain of the virus first identified in California.

The department said it would stop ordering bamlanivimab in California, Arizona and Nevada, states that are seeing multiple cases of infection with the mutated SARS-CoV2 virus, CAL.20C, because of concerns over how the antibody is impacted by the variant.

HHS said that other monoclonal antibodies approved for use against COVID-19 won’t be affected, including Lilly’s combination antibody therapy, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, and Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, casirivimab and imdevimab, which have both received Emergency Use Authorizations from the FDA.

Last week, Eli Lilly disclosed that bamlanivimab and etesevimab together reduced the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 by 87 percent in a phase 3 study and was effective against emerging variant strains of the coronavirus (DID, March 11).

Read the HHS notice: bit.ly/2OyyDQZ. ― Jason Scott