INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co. said Monday it will begin testing an experimental antibody on residents and staff at U.S. nursing homes, where the novel coronavirus has raged through many of the facilities, accounting for about 40% of all COVID-19 deaths.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said it has launched a late-stage trial for the neutralizing antibody it is developing along with Canadian partner AbCellera Biologics Inc. Lilly plans to enroll up to 2,400 residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. It will conduct the trials in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Lilly shares rose 2.7% in premarket trading on the news, to $150.29 each.
The antibody, known as LY-CoV55, is already in human testing at major medical centers in the United States, including the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Lilly has not announced results of those test, which began in June.
Lilly did not say which nursing homes would get the tests. It said it will enroll residents and staff who live or work at facilities that recently had diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and who are now at high risk of exposure.
In Indiana, more than 1,400 residents of nursing homes have died of COVID-19, accounting for more than half of the deaths from the virus.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on nursing home residents,” said Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer. “We’re working as fast as we can to create medicines that might stop the spread of the virus to these vulnerable individuals. While it’s not easy to conduct clinical trials in this setting, we’re taking on the challenge in an effort to help those who need us the most.”
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
