US Government Calls For Additional Eli Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Therapy

The U.S. government has agreed to purchase a minimum of 100,000 doses of Eli Lilly and Co's (NYSE: LLY) COVID-19 antibody therapy combining bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg and etesevimab (LY-CoV016) 1400 mg.
The purchase agreement is for $210 million, and the doses will be delivered through March 31. The U.S. government will have the option to purchase up to an additional 1,100,000 doses through November 25.
Two weeks ago, bamlanivimab and etesevimab together received FDA emergency use authorization for recently diagnosed mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 or hospitalization.
Additionally, the National Institutes of Health recommended the use of bamlanivimab plus etesevimab for outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of clinical progression.
Price Action: LLY shares are up 1.07% at $206 premarket on the last check Friday.