Lilly Partners with Area Health Systems to Help Enable Access to Important Antibody Infusion Therapies for COVID-19 Patients

Eli Lilly and Company has partnered with local health systems to launch dedicated infusion center locations serving central, northern, and now southern Indiana that are intended to provide Hoosiers with access to important COVID-19 treatments. Multiple neutralizing antibody therapies, administered via intravenous infusion, have been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

“Throughout the implementation of our COVID-19 antibody clinical development program, we have identified multiple approaches to address many of the challenges this virus has presented, including complexities experienced with intravenous administration during the pandemic,” said Rob Metcalf, senior vice president, Clinical Development, Lilly. “We are pleased to share our insights with the goal of enabling health systems to quickly provide access to the COVID-19 antibody therapies needed to fight this devastating virus in high-risk symptomatic patients.”

The opening of these infusion centers provides additional dedicated locations in which people can receive COVID-19 infusion treatments. Last week Ascension St. Vincent Evansville opened a dedicated infusion center to serve Hoosiers in southern Indiana who are high-risk COVID-19 patients. Lilly has also partnered with the State of Indiana, Community Health Network, Eskenazi Health, and Franciscan Health on an infusion center serving the Central Indiana area and with Saint Joseph Health System, Beacon Health System, and Goshen Health System on an infusion center serving Northern Indiana. These infusion centers have helped deliver antibody therapy to more than 1,700 Hoosiers with COVID-19 who are high risk.

“We’re thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with our health system partners and Lilly to serve these high-risk COVID-19 patients. This partnership has allowed us to bring COVID-19 treatments to high-risk Hoosiers quickly and efficiently,” said Robin Ledyard, MD, chief medical officer of Community Health Network. “It’s important to provide this essential option for these patients as we work together to battle this devastating disease.”

The establishment of these infusion centers has provided needed treatment options and it has offered an opportunity to find creative solutions to eliminating treatment barriers. Lilly is undertaking efforts to share insights with governments, health systems and other important stakeholders from these infusion centers to help other locations successfully open to serve high-risk COVID-19 patients. Health systems interested in creating their own dedicated infusion centers can find key resources here.

Patients should contact their physician to see if a COVID-19 antibody treatment is right for them. To learn more about these and other COVID-19 antibody infusion site locations across Indiana, click here or contact Lilly’s 24-hour support line at 1-855-LillyC19 (1-855-545-5921). Patients and physicians can also visit covid.infusioncenter.org or the HHS Therapeutic Distribution locator to find a potential treatment location, or visit combatcovid.hhs.gov to find out more about antibody therapy.

About Lilly’s COVID-19 Efforts
Lilly is bringing the full force of its scientific and medical expertise to attack the coronavirus pandemic around the world. Existing Lilly medicines are being studied to understand their potential in treating complications of COVID-19, and the company is collaborating with partner companies to discover novel antibody treatments for COVID-19. Lilly is testing both single antibody therapy as well as multiple antibodies used together as potential therapeutics for COVID-19. Click here for resources related to Lilly’s COVID-19 efforts.

About Eli Lilly and Company?
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.