Eli Lilly had a lucrative first-quarter 2022, with revenue growth rising 15 percent driven by sales of the company’s diabetes drug Trulicity and its COVID-19 antibodies.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has hit companies unevenly, some biopharma firms that have produced new drugs or vaccines against the disease have shown big spikes in drug sales. BioSpace reviewed five companies that produced non-vaccine treatments for COVID-19.
German researchers found that COVID-19 therapies developed by Eli Lilly and Regeneron lose most of their effectiveness when exposed in laboratory tests to the Omicron variant of coronavirus, likely reducing treatment options if the new variant prevails.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 3 authorized the use of Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 dual-antibody therapy in treating mild to moderate symptoms in all children, including newborns, who are at risk of severe illness.
Eli Lilly said on Nov. 2 that the U.S. government bought 614,000 additional doses of the company’s Covid-19 antibody therapy for $1.29 billion.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Sept. 16 it has revised the FDA’s emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 antibody cocktail to include for use in patients who have been exposed to the virus and are at high risk for progression to severe disease.
Eli Lilly said on Sept. 15 the U.S. government bought 388,000 additional doses of the company’s Covid-19 antibody therapy and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Sept. 14 the U.S. government was buying 1.4 million additional doses of the Covid-19 antibody cocktail REGEN-COV., as infections surge due to the fast-spreading Delta variant.
Eli Lilly requested cancellation of the U.S. authorization granted to the company’s Covid-19 antibody bamlanivimab, which will now be used in combination with another to achieve greater efficacy against emerging virus variants.
Eli Lilly said on April 12 the company had a revised agreement with the U.S. government for the Covid-19 antibody drug bamlanivimab, which will now be sold in combination with another therapy.
Antibody treatments from Eli Lilly and Vir Biotechnology reduced viral load in low-risk Covid-19 patients, results from a mid-stage trial showed on March 29.