Lilly to supply up to 600,000 doses of COVID-19 drug candidate to U.S

[February 11, 2022]  (Reuters) -Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday it had entered an agreement with the U.S. government to supply up to 600,000 doses of its developmental COVID-19 antibody drug for at least $720 million.

Lilly said it has filed a request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for authorization of the drug, bebtelovimab, to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in some high-risk patients.

The U.S. government will accept the doses if the drug receives clearance from the FDA, Lilly said.

The health regulator revised the emergency use authorizations for Lilly's antibody combination treatment as well as a rival therapy from Regeneron in January, as the drugs were found to be ineffective against the Omicron variant.

Lilly said bebtelovimab is effective against Omicron and its BA.2 subvariant, which is said to be more transmissible. Regeneron has also said it is working to develop next generation antibodies that are active against Omicron and all other variants of concern.

Under the agreement, Lilly said it would have to deliver the doses of bebtelovimab to the government by March 31, and another 500,000 optional doses by the end of July.

(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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