Eli Lilly to supply additional doses of COVID antibody drug to U.S.

(Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday it will supply additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody drug to the U.S. government in order to meet demand through late August.

As per the modified supply agreement with the government, Lilly will provide an additional 150,000 doses of bebtelovimab for about $275 million. The drug has also shown effectiveness against the Omicron variant.

The FDA authorized the drug earlier this year for emergency use in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death.

Lilly said bebtelovimab retains effectiveness against Omicron as well as its fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which now make up more than 50% of COVID cases in the United States.

Lilly said delivery will begin immediately and U.S. has an option to buy additional 350,000 doses till September 14.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)