Lilly gets emergency use permission for its drugs to treat COVID

American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has announced that it has received permission for restricted emergency use of its antibody drugs, bamlanivimab 700mg and etesevimab 1400mg, in India for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease.

Bamlanivimab and etesevimab together are indicated for restricted use in emergency situation, IV route for the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus disease for injection administration in hospital settings.

The injection can be administered in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with RT-PCR positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing and who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization and do not require oxygen.

Lilly is engaging in active dialogue with the Indian government and regulatory authorities to donate bamlanivimab and etesevimab in order to speed up access and provide treatment options for patients with COVID-19, the company said in a statement.

Bamlanivimab and etesevimab together have been authorized under Emergency Use Authorization in the US and select EU countries, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.

Speaking about its benefits for patients with COVID-19, Luca Visini, Managing Director, India Subcontinent, Lilly India, said, "We are pleased that we have another innovative treatment option to offer India's healthcare providers who continue to be at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19. Lilly is committed to contributing to the alleviation of the COVID-19 pandemic in India and around the world. We will continue to assess and evaluate how our existing portfolio and ongoing research can benefit patients with COVID-19."

Earlier in May, Lilly had also received permission for the emergency use of baricitinib in combination with Remdesivir, for the treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 in hospitalized adults requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Since then, Lilly has already made available a donation of more than 650,000 tablets of Baricitinib to the Indian government and issued eight voluntary licenses to Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers of generic medicines to accelerate and expand the availability of baricitinib to patients in India.