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Lilly to prioritize selling antibody cocktail for COVID-19

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) announced that it had amended purchase agreements with the U.S. government to prioritize using two monoclonal antibodies — bamlanivimab and etesevimab — in tandem.

In March, the U.S. government announced that it would stop using bamlanivimab alone, given its reduced efficacy against some SARS-CoV-2 variants.

But pairing anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies together can offer more robust protection against variants. Using two of the monoclonal antibodies together is more protective than administering either alone.

The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel of the National Institutes of Health has recommended pairing Lilly’s bamlanivimab with etesevimab or Regeneron’s (NSDQ:REGN) cocktail combining casirivimab and imdevimab.

Bamlanivimab and etesevimab image courtesy of Eli Lilly.

Regeneron’s REGEN-COV drug is an antibody cocktail combining casirivimab and imdevima…

U.S. government halts use of Lilly’s bamlanivimab monotherapy

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants has convinced the U.S. government to stop using Lilly’s COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab when used alone.

The U.S. government will continue using bamlanivimab when paired with etesevimab, another monoclonal antibody.

The government pointed to the rising number of SARS-CoV-2 variants across the country as the reasoning behind the decision.

Lilly stresses that bamlanivimab and etesevimab together should offer stronger protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants than either when used alone.

Several variants can potentially reduce the neutralization by monoclonal antibody treatments, according to the CDC. Variants such as B.1.429 and B.1.427, which emerged in California, have significant resistance to neutralization from at least some monoclonal antibody therapies available in the U.S. The P.1 variant first spotted in Brazil, and the B.1.351 variant from South Africa have moderate resistance to such antibo…

Eli Lilly CFO departs amid accusations of ‘inappropriate’ communications with staff

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) has announced that its chief financial officer Joshua Smiley has resigned.

An independent investigation with external counsel discovered “consensual though inappropriate” communications between Smiley and a number of employees, according to a Lilly statement.

Lilly has installed a replacement, Anat Ashkenazi, who has worked at the company for almost 20 years. “We are confident in Anat’s ability to serve as our next CFO given her impeccable track record of leadership and business success across nearly all major parts of the company, most recently as corporate controller and head of strategy,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly CEO, in prepared remarks.

Smiley forfeited more than $20 million in cash and equity awards upon exiting the company.

Smiley will receive $9,000 every two weeks through July as he facilitates the transition.

Smiley had worked at Lilly since 1995, becoming CFO in 2018.

LLY shares fell 2% after th…

Eli Lilly rises on Street-beating Q4

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) shares ticked up this morning on fourth-quarter results that beat the consensus forecast.

The Indianapolis-based company posted profits of $2.1 billion or $2.32 per share, on sales of $7.4 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, for a 41.5% bottom-line gain on sales growth of 21.7%.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.75, 40¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $7.3 billion.

The company’s quarter included receiving FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for both bamlanivimab and baricitinib (the latter for use in combination with remdesivir) in COVID-19 patients. Bamlanivimab, a COVID-19 antibody treatment, is for mild-to-moderate cases at risk of progresing to severe COVID-19, while baricitinib’s indication is for hospitalized patients who require supplemental oxygen, ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

“Lilly closed a complex yea…