INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Company announced Wednesday that the U.S. government purchased an additional 650,000 doses of the company's neutralizing antibody bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) to treat COVID-19.
"Bamlanivimab recently received emergency use authorization for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization," according to Eli Lilly.
The additional doses bring the total to 950,000 doses purchased by the U.S. government.
"Given the significant increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., we are doing everything possible to quickly provide more bamlanivimab doses to Americans," said David A. Ricks, Lilly's chairman and CEO. "We are proud of our work to deploy significant manufacturing capacity and remain committed to enabling widespread and equitable access to bamlanivimab. The U.S. government's effort to allocate bamlanivimab around the country is critical to ensuring it reaches patients who need it the most."
