The study of an antibody treatment against covid-19 by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has been stopped

A thorough review found no safety concerns, but suggested the drug is unlikely to improve the condition of critically ill coronavirus patients.

U.S. government officials prematurely stopped a study testing an Eli Lilly company drug for people hospitalized with COVID-19 because, apparently, it did not help seriously ill patientsthe pharmaceutical company announced this week in a statement.

An independent team of medical experts had suspended enrollment of new study participants (Activ-3) two weeks ago due to potential safety concerns. But on Monday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsors the study, noted that a thorough review found no safety concerns, although it suggested there is a very low likelihood that the treatment will improve the condition of coronavirus patients. . , collects AP.

“This recommendation is based on the evidence that the drug bamlanivimab is unlikely to help hospitalized patients get through the advanced stage of covid-19,” they explained.

Although the announcement represents a setback for one of the most promising techniques to fight COVID-19, pharmaceutical Eli Lilly stressed that the government continues with a separate study of the drug for patients whose disease is mild and moderate, in order to prevent hospitalization.

Specialists remain confident that the use of bamlanivimab will prevent the development of an infection in patients who have received the drug previously and could be used as a prophylactic treatment in combination with other preparations.

The drug developed by Eli Lilly consists of a combination of laboratory-engineered proteins called monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of seriously ill patients with coronavirus, similar to the treatment of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. that President Donald Trump received after contracting covid-19.

Lilly and Regeneron, who are working on these experimental treatments, have applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use clearance for their coronavirus drugs as they continue their studies.