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U.S. Government To Purchase Eli Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Drug Pending FDA Approval

By Samantha Horton, IPB News | Published on in Business, Government, Health
Eli Lilly's Corporate Headquarters in Indianapolis. The company has agreed to supply an initial 300,000 doses of its COVID-19 antibody drug to the U.S. government to be distributed across the country. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)
Eli Lilly's Corporate Headquarters in Indianapolis. The company has agreed to supply an initial 300,000 doses of its COVID-19 antibody drug to the U.S. government to be distributed across the country. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)

The U.S. government has agreed to purchase 300,000 doses of Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody treatment. It plans to pay $375 million for the vials of the drug.

An additional 650,000 doses could be purchased from the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company through June 2021.

Patients who receive the medication distributed by the U.S. government will not have any out-of-pocket costs for the drug, but may have to pay a fee for its administration.

Peer reviewed data published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the drug may have “potential” in treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve an emergency use authorization application from Lilly that was submitted earlier this month.

Lilly said it plans to produce up to 1 million doses by the end of the year.

Contact reporter Samantha at shorton@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @SamHorton5.

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