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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowU.S. health officials in November granted emergency use of an Eli Lilly and Co. antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the experimental drug for people 12 and older with mild or moderate symptoms not requiring hospitalization. It’s a one-time treatment given through an IV.
Indianapolis-based Lilly has shipped about 200,000 doses of its antibody, bamlanivimab, to states and territories. One other drugmaker, Regeneron, is also producing an antibody, and has shipped about 52,000 doses.
Yet so far, only around 5% to 20% of the antibodies shipped by the two companies have been used, Operation Warp Speed’s scientific head, Moncef Slaoui, told CNBC on Dec. 15.
On “Face the Nation” on Dec. 20, Lilly CEO David Ricks urged broader use of Lilly’s drug, saying it would reduce patient suffering.
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