Lilly to supply 150,000 more doses of Omicron treatment
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Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has received a $275 million purchase agreement to supply the U.S. government with an additional 150,000 doses of bebtelovimab. The agreement is a modification of Lilly’s $720 million deal, which supplied the U.S. government with 600,000 doses of the drug.
In February, Lilly received Emergency Use Authorization for bebtelovimab, which is an antibody therapy that treats the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The company says Bebtelovimab continues to maintain neutralization activity against the most common Omicron variants in the U.S., in addition to the known variants.
“Lilly and its collaborators have partnered closely with the federal government throughout the pandemic to ensure broad and equitable access to our monoclonal antibodies,” said David Ricks, Lilly’s chief executive officer. “While Congress works toward additional COVID-19 funding, Lilly and the U.S. government will continue to work together to support the availability of bebtelovimab to maximize equity and accessibility in the U.S. market.”
According to Lilly, delivery of the doses will begin immediately and will be completed by August 5.
Lilly says the government’s supply of bebtelovimab, which includes the new purchase, is expected to meet demand through late August.