Lilly’s Second Potential COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Starts Study

Eli Lilly and Company announced its partner Junshi Biosciences has dosed the first healthy volunteer in a study of a potential neutralizing antibody treatment designed to fight COVID-19 disease. 

This investigational medicine, referred to as JS016, is being co-developed by Junshi Biosciences and Lilly, with Junshi Biosciences leading the development in greater China, commented Lilly on June 8, 2020, in a press statement.

Lilly is leading the development in the rest of the world.

JS016 is a recombinant fully human monoclonal neutralizing antibody, which has been modified to diminish effector function. 

JS016 specifically binds to the SARS-CoV-2 surface spike protein receptor-binding domain and can effectively block the binding of viruses to the ACE2 host cell surface receptor, stated Lilly.

"There is much we still don't know about COVID-19," said Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., Lilly's chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. 

"The best path to learning more about the potential for neutralizing antibodies, either as monotherapy or in combination, is through carefully controlled randomized trials. We look forward to the results of such trials in the coming months.”

Lilly has exclusive rights in the rest of the world and will begin dosing patients in a complementary Phase 1 study in the United States in the coming days. 

Both Phase 1 studies aim to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity of JS016 in healthy participants who have not been diagnosed with COVID-19. 

This is Lilly's second neutralizing antibody to start clinical trials, following LY-CoV555 that recently entered Phase 1 and is currently being tested in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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COVID-19 disease treatment news published by Precision Vaccinations.