A phase 3 trial testing Eli Lilly's monoclonal antibody, bamlanivimab, in nursing homes suggests that the drug can significantly lower the risk of contracting COVID-19.
The BLAZE-2 COVID-19 prevention trial, conducted in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), enrolled residents and staff at nursing homes across the U.S.
The study included 965 participants at nursing homes: 666 staff members and 299 residents. ll participants were randomized to receive either a 4,200 mg infusion of bamlanivimab or placebo.
After all participants reached 8 weeks of follow-up, in the subgroup of nursing home residents, there was a significantly lower frequency of symptomatic COVID-19 in those treated with bamlanivimab versus placebo (odds ratio 0.20; p=0.00026). These results suggest that residents randomized to bamlanivimab have up to an 80 percent lower risk of contracting COVID-19 versus residents in the same facility randomized to placebo.
Overall (residents and staff) there was a significantly lower frequency of symptomatic COVID-19 in the bamlanivimab treatment arm versus placebo (odds ratio 0.43, p=0.00021). These results suggest that trial participants randomized to bamlanivimab have up to a 57 percent lower risk of contracting COVID-19 versus those in the same facility randomized to placebo.
Bamlanivimab is authorized for emergency use by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients.
According to the drugmaker, the full results from BLAZE-2 will be presented at a future medical congress and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed clinical journal.
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