The government will buy 26,000 doses of the drug over a three-month period from December to February for $32.5 million US, according to a news release from Eli Lilly Tuesday.
Bamlanivimab is designed to block viral attachment and entry into human cells, neutralizing the virus and potentially treating COVID-19, according to the company. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization for bamlanivimab on Nov. 9. Lilly anticipates manufacturing one million doses before the end of the year, and has already reached a deal with the U.S. government for 300,000 doses.
AbCellera researchers used a blood sample from one of the earliest COVID-19 survivors from the U.S. to get their work started.
WTH_Canada So we don't have domestic capacity for vaccines and will have to wait. We're committed to buy 414M doses of vaccines out of country. But we are only prepared to buy 26,000 doses of a domestic therapeutic and keep some of the money in Canada? Bad headline.