U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co today said its antibody drug combination has received an emergency use approval in India for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 case.
The drugmakr’s monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab has received nod for restricted use in emergency situations in hospital settings in adults.
Monoclonal antibodies mimic natural antibodies that the body generates to fight infection.
As per the official release issued by the company, it is in talks with the Indian government and regulatory authorities to donate the drugs to help speed up access and provide more treatment options for COVID-19.
Approval to Eli Lilly’s has come soon after a similar approval given to antibody cocktail developed by Regeneron and Roche.
Lilly’s arthritis drug baricitinib in combination with remdesivir has already received restricted emergency use approval in Indi for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 adult patients requiring supplemental oxygen.
Eli Lilly had issued royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licenses to many Indian pharma companies to accelerate and expand the availability of baricitinib in India for Covid-19 patients.
India’s Zydus Cadila has already sought regulatory approval for clinical trials of its antibody cocktail to treat mild COVID-19.
