The purpose of this study is to measure how well LY3819253 and LY3832479 work against the virus that causes COVID-19. LY3819253 and LY3832479 will be given to 3160 participants with early symptoms of COVID-19.

Samples will be taken from the back of the nose to determine how much virus is in the body at various times during the study.

Participation could last about 12 weeks and includes one required visit to the study site, with the remainder of assessments performed in the home or by phone.

Results

The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of this clinical trial on July 14, 2021.

RESULTS: A total of 1035 patients underwent randomization and received an infusion of bamlanivimab–etesevimab or placebo. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 53.8±16.8 years, and 52.0% were adolescent girls or women. By day 29, a total of 11 of 518 patients (2.1%) in the bamlanivimab–etesevimab group had a Covid-19–related hospitalization or death from any cause, as compared with 36 of 517 patients (7.0%) in the placebo group (absolute risk difference, −4.8 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], −7.4 to −2.3; relative risk difference, 70%; P<0.001). No deaths occurred in the bamlanivimab–etesevimab group; in the placebo group, 10 deaths occurred, 9 of which were designated by the trial investigators as Covid-19–related. At day 7, a greater reduction from baseline in the log viral load was observed among patients who received bamlanivimab plus etesevimab than among those who received placebo (difference from placebo in the change from baseline, −1.20; 95% CI, −1.46 to −0.94; P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Among high-risk ambulatory patients, bamlanivimab plus etesevimab led to a lower incidence of Covid-19–related hospitalization and death than did placebo and accelerated the decline in the SARS-CoV-2 viral load. Funded by Eli Lilly; BLAZE-1.