Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Administration Buys 300,000 Doses Of Eli Lilly's COVID Treatment
The Hill: Trump Administration Agrees To Purchase $375 Million Of Lilly Coronavirus Antibody Drug
The Trump administration will pay Eli Lilly $375 million to supply 300,000 doses of its experimental antibody drug to treat COVID-19, the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. If the Food and Drug Administration authorizes use of the drug, the federal government will allocate the doses to state and territorial health departments which, in turn, will determine which health care facilities receive the drug for use in outpatient care. (Weixel, 10/28)
NPR: Lilly COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Would Come With Hefty Infusion Costs
Eli Lilly has struck a deal with the federal government to provide 300,000 doses of a drug that's designed to keep people infected with COVID-19 out of the hospital. The cost per dose: $1,250. The federal government plans to distribute the 300,000 doses at no cost, but that doesn't mean treatment will be free. The Lilly drug, a type of monoclonal antibody, is given by intravenous infusion. Those infusions, typically given in hospitals or standalone clinics, can cost well over $1,000. People with health insurance are often required to pay hundreds of dollars in copayments. (Harris, 10/28)
In related news on COVID treatments —
Bloomberg: Regeneron Covid-19 Therapy Reduces Viral Load, Need For Care
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said data from a late-stage clinical trial suggest that its antibody cocktail therapy for Covid-19 significantly reduces virus levels and the need for further medical care. The results offer another encouraging signal in the race to find treatments for the deadly virus. Patients outside the hospital who got the therapy were 57% less likely to need medical care later, with 2.8% of those given the antibody and 6.5% of those on placebo seeing a health-care worker within 29 days. (Griffin and Cortez, 10/28)
Stat: Antibody Drugs Appear Effective. Now Can We Make Enough Of Them?
The Covid-19 pandemic teaches one lesson, over and over: The virus is moving faster than we are. That difficult message was driven home Wednesday evening with news that an antibody cocktail developed by the drug maker Regeneron — the same cocktail used to treat President Trump — reduced infected patients’ need to visit the doctor, virtually or in person, or go to the hospital by 57%. (Herper, 10/29)
CNN: Immunity To Coronavirus Lingers For Months, Study Finds
Immunity to Covid-19 infection lingers for at least five months, researchers reported -- and probably longer than that. While the report may seem confusing and contradictory to a similar report out of Britain this week, it really isn't. People's bodies produce an army of immune compounds in response to an infection and some are overwhelming at first, dying off quickly, while others build more slowly. The new report out Wednesday shows 90% of people who recover from Covid-19 infections keep a stable antibody response. (Fox, 10/29)
