Lilly Halts Late-Stage COVID-19 Antibody Trial Over Safety Concerns Following J&J's Vaccine Pause

Overseas Network, October 14 — U.S. companies have encountered further issues in trials of coronavirus-related vaccines and drugs. Following Johnson & Johnson’s suspension of its COVID-19 vaccine research and trials, Eli Lilly and Company announced on the 13th that U.S. health regulators had halted late-stage clinical trials of its monoclonal antibody drug for COVID-19 due to potential safety concerns.

According to reports from The Washington Post, CNBC, and other media outlets on the 13th, Eli Lilly and Company spokesperson Molly McCully stated, “For Eli Lilly, safety is of paramount importance. We support the recommendation made by the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for this trial to consider suspending it.” Following the announcement, Eli Lilly’s stock closed down 2.9%.

Eli Lilly and Company’s drug is part of a treatment approach known as monoclonal antibody therapy, in which antibodies are engineered to function like immune cells, with scientists hoping they can be used to combat the novel coronavirus. This therapy utilizes blood samples from individuals in the United States who have recovered from COVID-19. In addition to Eli Lilly, other companies such as AstraZeneca are also developing so-called antibody therapies.

U.S. media pointed out that less than 24 hours before Eli Lilly and Company announced this news, Johnson & Johnson had just confirmed that its ongoing COVID-19 vaccine research had been paused due to unexplained symptoms in a participant. In response to the media, Johnson & Johnson stated that "a participant experienced unexplained symptoms" and declined to provide further information.