Eli Lilly to donate 400,000 tablets of its COVID-19 treatment to India

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With 3.45 million active cases, India recorded 357,229 new infections over the last 24 hours, while deaths rose 3,449 for a toll of 222,408, health ministry data showed.

Reuters

May 04, 2021 / 05:15 PM IST

Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday it would make an immediate initial donation of 400,000 tablets of its COVID-19 treatment to the Indian government for eligible hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

With 3.45 million active cases, India recorded 357,229 new infections over the last 24 hours, while deaths rose 3,449 for a toll of 222,408, health ministry data showed.

Experts say actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher, however the drugmaker said it will work urgently to increase the supply multifold over the coming weeks.

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On Monday, India’s drug regulator gave emergency use approval to Lilly’s treatment, baricitinib, for its use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

The drug will be used in combination with Gilead Sciences’s COVID-19 drug remdesivir.

Lilly is offering donations of its rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib for COVID-19 treatment to the Indian government through aid organization Direct Relief.

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