Small trial suggests Eli Lilly's coronavirus antibody drug could reduce patients' hospitalization odds

(Image credit: James Black/Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

published 16 September 2020

Eli Lilly's monoclonal coronavirus antibody drug is off to a "good start" after the pharmaceutical giant completed a small clinical trial, Stat News reports.

Only about 450 patients were enrolled in the trial, so there's a long way to go before Lilly finds anything definitive, but Stat reports the medicine — a manufactured version of the naturally-occurring antibodies the body produces to fend off the virus — appeared to reduce patients' hospitalization odds. Only 1.7 percent of the patients who received the drug went to the emergency room or were hospitalized, compared to 6 percent who took a placebo.

Again, it's unclear if that will hold up with further study, but Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly's chief scientific officer, said the early data are "extremely exciting" and "should give us confidence that neutralizing antibodies are going to be an important part of the solution" to the pandemic. Skovonrsky said the company will discuss additional clinical trials with regulators, as well as options like an emergency use authorization.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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