Eli Lilly, which partnered with the Vancouver-based biotech firm to develop an antibody therapy called bamlanivimab, said the U.S. government will buy a second antibody treatment called etesevimab to be administered in combination with it. The U.S. stopped distributing bamlanivimab on its own late last month, as some COVID-19 variants proved resistant to treatment by it alone. (The Logic)

Talking point: The modified agreement cancels the U.S. government’s purchase of 350,856 bamlanivimab doses that had been scheduled for delivery by the end of last month. It will instead buy an undisclosed number of doses of the combination therapy, an Eli Lilly spokesperson told The Logic in an email. “Given the rising cases seen in the last few weeks, we would expect that the antibodies that have already been manufactured and are ready for shipment would be administered to patients in need,” an AbCellera spokesperson told The Logic. Health Canada has authorized bamlanivimab for use, but it is not widely available. The treatment alone “retains its neutralization effects” against the U.K. variant, which makes up the majority of Canada’s variant cases, said Eli Lilly. The company has submitted the combination treatment to Health Canada for authorization.