Trials for Eli Lilly’s antibody treatment and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine were both paused this week.
Within 24 hours, two pharmaceutical companies separately confirmed that their COVID-19 clinical trials — one for a vaccine, the other for a therapy — were being paused over potential safety concerns.
A government-sponsored trial for Eli Lilly’s antibody drug was paused due to a “potential safety concern,” according to emails sent to testing sites on Tuesday. The company confirmed in a statement that an independent board overseeing the trial’s safety had made the decision “out of an abundance of caution.” Eli Lilly’s therapy is similar to another experimental treatment manufactured by Regeneron and used to treat President Donald Trump two weeks ago.
And on Monday, Johnson & Johnson confirmed that it paused its vaccine trial due to “an unexplained illness in a study participant,” as first reported by Stat. Continue reading.