Eli Lilly Starts Clinical Trial for Potential COVID-19 Treatment
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is one of the many drugmakers that have been looking to develop a treatment for COVID-19, and the company recently announced it was making progress in its efforts to do so. Eli Lilly partnered up with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to study the safety and efficacy of Olumiant as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The FDA approved Olumiant in June 2018 as a treatment for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eli Lilly now thinks the RA medicine -- because of its anti-inflammatory effects on the immune system -- may be effective at treating COVID-19 patients.
The NIAID is leading the clinical trial for Olumiant, which will involve hospitalized patients in the U.S. diagnosed with COVID-19. Results from the study should be available within two months. Eli Lilly is also planning on starting a separate phase 2 clinical trial for an antibody called LY3127804 as a potential treatment against COVID-19. This trial, which will begin in late April, will mainly target "pneumonia patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are at a higher risk of progressing to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)."
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Source Fool.com
