AbCellera-Discovered Antibody Prevented COVID-19 in Nursing Homes and Reduced Risks by up to 80% for Residents

About this update from Abcellera Biologics Inc.

[{"type":"text","content":" VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced that bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555), a human antibody discovered by AbCellera and developed with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), significantly reduced the risk of contracting symptomatic COVID-19 among residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Lilly’s Phase 3 BLAZE-2 COVID-19 prevention trial was 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).\n\nKey details from the BLAZE-2 study are as follows:\n\n\nParticipants were grouped based on their COVID-19 status at baseline: 965 COVID-19 negative participants (299 residents and 666 staff) were in the prevention group, and 132 COVID-19 positive participants (41 residents and 91 staff) were in the treatment group;\n\n\nParticipants in each group were randomized to receive either 4,200 mg of bamlanivimab or placebo;\n\n\nSerious adverse events were reported at a similar frequency in both placebo and bamlanivimab groups, consistent with previous safety observations in Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials;\n\n\nBamlanivimab reduced the risk of contracting COVID-19 by up to 80% in residents versus placebo (odds ratio 0.20; p=0.00026); and\n\n\nAll deaths attributed to COVID-19 occurred in residents receiving the placebo. There were no COVID-19-related deaths of participants receiving bamlanivimab.\n\n\n“The data from the Phase 3 BLAZE-2 trial show that bamlanivimab provides effective protection against COVID-19 infection, with the greatest impact on the most vulnerable patients,” said Carl Hansen, Ph.D., CEO and President of AbCellera. “Furthermore, data obtained from the treatment group are completely consistent with what was observed in the BLAZE-1 trial. This reinforces the importance of efforts to ensure high-risk patients get access to antibody therapy early in COVID-19 infection. We believe bamlanivimab can save lives if delivered early.”\n\nAdditional details about Lilly’s trial are available here.\n\nAbout AbCellera’s Response to COVID-19\n\nBamlanivimab was developed from an antibody that was discovered from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient using AbCellera’s pandemic response platform, in partnership with the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at NIAID. Wit...

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