HELP ON THE WAY ELI LILLY RELEASES COVID-19 ANTIBODY TREATMENT Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
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fter a year that feels like it’s been full of upsets and letdowns, news that Eli Lilly and Company has produced a COVID-19 antibody treatment, for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency authorization, is a reason to celebrate. The treatment stems from one of the first coronavirus survivors from the Pacific Northwest.
What this treatment means for high-risk patients is significant. High-risk patients include those who are older, overweight, or have conditions that predispose them to suffer acutely after contracting COVID-19. The antibody is administered as soon as possible following a positive coronavirus test - within 10 days of developing symptoms.
“When your body has a virus that enters it, your immune system recognizes it and creates antibodies that help your body to rid itself of the virus,” says Janelle Sabo, Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 therapeutics platform leader. “We were able to isolate one of those antibodies and scale it up.”
“Our hope is that when this therapy is administered early on, those patients will avoid hospitalization and hopefully will be able to ease their symptomology sooner as well,” Sabo says.
When introduced to the human body, this antibody binds to the COVID-19 virus and helps neutralize it, so that it clears from the body. Once Eli Lilly was granted approval by the FDA, the U.S. government bought a supply that was shipped to Eli Lilly’s wholesaler. Every week, the U.S. government and state health departments across the country decide where the therapy should be shipped. Currently the therapy, called bamlanivimab, is at various locations across the U.S., including right here in Indianapolis. “We know bamlanivimab is in several hospitals in Indiana, and patients have already been dosed with it,” Sabo says.
If an individual is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, they should get tested. If they are positive and have symptoms, they may be a candidate for this drug if they are 55 or over, have a body mass index over 35, or have conditions like cardiovascular disease or an impaired immune system. It’s important to note that once patients are ill enough to be hospitalized, bamlanivimab is not the right treatment for them. “This is because at that point there are other biological things that are going on that may require a different set of treatments,” Sabo says. “This antibody treatment is targeted for that early-diagnosis, symptomatic, not-ready-to-go-to-the-hospital population.” Sabo says the virus has caused a strain on many hospital systems. “We are seeing fewer and fewer ICU beds,” Sabo says. “We are
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