Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) are partnering on a pragmatic study of bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) in high-risk patients with COVID-19 infections.
Lilly recently won emergency use authorization from the FDA to use the monoclonal antibody bamlanivimab to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 infections in patients at risk of severe infections.
The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of bamlanivimab compared to a propensity-matched control. It will offer participants in-home SARS-CoV-2 testing and infusion of the drug, which is administered via intravenous infusion. Offering testing and infusion at home will help prevent participants from spreading the virus within medical facilities.
Enrolling up to 500,000 patients, the study will also provide daily symptom tracking via a mobile application with a daily questionnaire.
Members of UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage program who meet the FDA-authorized treatment criteria will be eligible to volunteer for the trial.
UnitedHealthcare’s involvement in the study could indicate bamlanivimab’s potential cost-effectiveness as COVID-19 therapy.
Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery and Development, Infectious Disease
