Eli Lilly & Co. said the antibody-based drug Covid-19 is found among many residents and staff of nursing homes and relief facilities, and the results suggest that the drug is complementary to vaccinations as vaccination increases.
The drug, called bamlanivimab, reduced the risk of both staff and residents getting sick with Covid-19 by about 57% compared to a placebo, Lilly said on Thursday. The effect was more pronounced among residents, according to the company, an 80% reduction in the risk of Covid-19.
The findings point to the potential for a new preventative weapon that could increase the new Covid-19 vaccination effort to stem the pandemic.
Lilly said it would ask U.S. health regulators to increase drug use to include protecting people in long-term care settings, where someone was recently diagnosed with Covid-19.
The partial results were from a final phase, or phase 3, study conducted in partnership with the National Institutes of Health. Lilly released the data in a news release, saying she plans to publish the full results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.