Lilly CEO Sees Supply Squeeze for New Antibody Drug as Covid-19 Cases Surge
Therapy gives doctors a new treatment option, but as the pandemic worsens, supplies could be stretched
In a mere nine months, Eli Lilly & Co. accomplished an unprecedented feat: The drug giant took a blood sample from one of the first U.S. patients to recover from Covid-19, identified an antibody that could fight the virus, and created a version of the antibody in the lab to treat people around the world who have contracted the deadly disease.
On Monday, the therapy Lilly developed with Canadian biotech AbCellera Biologics Inc. won emergency-use authorization from U.S. drug regulators to treat Covid-19, widening access to a treatment that early data suggest is effective in keeping people infected with the coronavirus out of the hospital. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease official, has referred to antibody-based medicines as a bridge to a vaccine. And with a global surge in cases, high demand for the treatment is virtually guaranteed.