U.S. Government to Purchase Minimum of 100,000 Doses of Etesevimab and Bamlanivimab Neutralizing Antibody Therapy

SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180), a leading innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies, announced today that the U.S. government has agreed to purchase a minimum of 100,000 doses of etesevimab (JS016 or LY-CoV016) 1400 mg and bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg together, according to the company’s global partner Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY). Etesevimab and bamlanivimab together recently received emergency use authorization for the treatment of recently diagnosed, mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently updated the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines to recommend the use of bamlanivimab plus etesevimab for the treatment of outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of clinical progression.

The agreement is for $210 million and doses will be delivered through March 31, 2021. The U.S. government will have the option to purchase up to an additional 1,100,000 doses through November 25, 2021, under the same terms as the base agreement and subject to agreement from Lilly, product availability and the medical need in the U.S. The government has said it will provide neutralizing antibodies at no out-of-pocket cost to patients, although healthcare facilities may charge a fee for the product's administration. The federal government directs the distribution of etesevimab and bamlanivimab together.

About etesevimab（JS016）
Etesevimab (JS016 or LY-CoV016) is a recombinant fully human monoclonal neutralizing antibody, which specifically binds to the SARS-CoV-2 surface spike protein receptor binding domain with high affinity and can block the binding of the virus to the ACE2 host cell surface receptor. Point mutations were introduced into the native human IgG1 antibody to mitigate effector function. Lilly licensed etesevimab from Junshi Biosciences after it was jointly developed by Junshi Biosciences and the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Science (IMCAS). Junshi Biosciences leads development in Greater China, while Lilly leads development in the rest of the world.