COVID-19 Antibody Therapy

The FDA approved an Emergency Use Authorization for bamlanivimab (BAM) to treat COVID-19 in high risk patients. Eli Lilly released new study results that indicate the antibody therapy reduced the risk to nursing home residents. These facilities account for 40% of all COVID-related deaths in the United States.

The study showed that residents given bamlanivimab saw their risk of getting the disease drop by up to 80%. Researchers encourage using the antibody therapy treatment at nursing homes.

“These data provide important additional clinical evidence regarding the use of bamlanivimab to fight COVID-19 and strengthen our conviction that monoclonal antibodies such as bamlanivimab can play a critical role in turning the tide of this pandemic,” Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., Lilly’s chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said in a statement.

CMS will cover monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 treatments. The DHHS started promoting bamlanivimab for COVID patients in non-hospital settings including nursing homes and assisted living facilities served by long-term care pharmacies.