(Reuters) -Eli Lilly on Tuesday announced a pact with the European Commission to supply up to 220,000 doses of its COVID-19 dual antibody cocktail to European countries for patients aged 12 years and older who are at a high risk of progressing to severe disease.
The treatment, a combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is meant for use in patients who do not require supplemental oxygen for COVID-19.
The agreement enables participating countries in the European Union and European Economic Area to purchase the products directly from Lilly, following authorization, Lilly said, adding that the quantities purchased may vary based on local needs.
While a number of European countries have previously ordered bamlanivimab and etesevimab in the first half of the year and have inventory on hand, this agreement provides access to additional doses for participating countries, should they be needed, Lilly said.
The drugmaker said it does not anticipate an impact to its 2021 financial outlook as a result of this agreement.
Lilly last week said the U.S. government had bought 388,000 additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody therapy, etesevimab to be paired with the existing supply of bamlanivimab.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
