Eli Lilly to Supply Up to 600,000 Doses of COVID-19 Antibody to U.S.

Eli Lilly has struck a deal with the U.S. government to supply up to 600,000 doses of an experimental COVID-19 antibody, bebtelovimab, for at least $720 million.

On Friday, Lilly secured Emergency Use Authorization for bebtelovimab for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in certain high-risk patients. The supply deal stipulates that Lilly would deliver the doses no later than the end of March and the government has the option to order an additional 500,000 doses, to be delivered by the end of July.

In a laboratory analysis, bebtelovimab was shown to maintain neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant and its more transmissible BA.2 subvariant, Lilly said.

The FDA restricted use of Lilly’s other COVID-19 antibody therapies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, in late January over concerns the combination wasn’t effective against Omicron.