Eli Lilly pauses trial of antibody drug Donald Trump touted as coronavirus ‘cure’ over safety concerns
- US president had received similar treatment from Regeneron during his battle with Covid-19
- News comes one day after Johnson & Johnson halted high-profile trial for coronavirus vaccine after volunteer fell ill
Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday that the government-sponsored clinical trial of its Covid-19 antibody treatment similar to one taken by US President Donald Trump has been paused because of a safety concern.
Trump touted the Lilly drug, along with the antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc that he received for his Covid-19, as tantamount to a cure in a video he posted last week.
The announcement comes one day after Johnson & Johnson said it was forced to pause a large high-profile trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because a volunteer fell ill. J&J said it does not yet know if that person was given the vaccine or a placebo.
AstraZeneca’s US trial for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine has also been on hold for over a month after a volunteer in its British study fell ill. Trials of that vaccine resumed in other regions after a brief halt.
Lilly said earlier this month it was applying for emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the antibody drug, LY-CoV555, for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 based on data from another clinical trial.
It is not uncommon to pause drug trials to investigate safety concerns, and such actions do not necessarily indicate a serious problem. Because of the urgent need for drugs and vaccines to tackle a pandemic that has claimed over 1 million lives worldwide – and the speed with which they are being developed – these trials have come under intense scrutiny.