Administering bamlanivimab (formerly LY-CoV555), a monoclonal antibody for COVID-19, along with remdesivir (Veklury) was ineffective for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, a randomized trial found. In a preliminary report of the first TICO trial, hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who received a single infusion of the neutralizing monoclonal antibody LY-CoV555 at a dose of 7000 mg, did not have better clinical outcomes on day 5 than those who received a placebo.

Most of the patients (95%) were also receiving remdesivir, thus LY-CoV555 met the prespecified criteria for futility and further enrollment was stopped. The sample size of more than 300 patients for the early futility assessment provided high statistical power for determining whether recruitment should continue to the full sample size of 1000 patients.

The TICO platform will proceed with the evaluation of additional COVID-19 treatments, including the use of new neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The clinical benefit from other antibody agents, given either as individual or combination therapies, may differ.

Stay the course, stay well, mask up, and stay tuned!