By Matt Grossman

 

Eli Lilly and Co. said Monday that it has begun human trials of an antibody treatment for Covid-19.

The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company developed the treatment, called LY-CoV5555, with AbCellera. It is based on antibodies found in the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient.

Phase 1 trials are taking place at medical centers including in New York City and Los Angeles. If the trials show that the treatment is safe, Eli Lilly plans additional trials both in non-hospitalized patients and in people who are not sick, to test the medicine's value as a preventative.

If the trials are successful, the company said it hopes to have several hundred thousand doses available by the end of the year.

 

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 01, 2020 06:58 ET (10:58 GMT)

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