Coronavirus – Hungary administers first dose of Eli Lilly’s antibody drug

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Photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán

Hungary on Friday became the first European country to administer a dose of US drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Covid-19 antibody drug bamlanivimab to a coronavirus patient, the human resources minister said on Facebook.

The first dose of the drug, which studies have shown to be effective in treating even the UK variant of the virus, was administered to a health worker at the South Pest Central Hospital, Miklós Kásler said.

The patient, who has been displaying moderately serious symptoms of Covid-19, has responded well to the drug and will now continue to be monitored, the minister said.

Kásler announced on Tuesday that Hungary would be the first European country to use bamlanivimab in the treatment of Covid patients.

He noted that the drug can reduce the development of serious complications from coronavirus by 70-75 percent, helping the affected patients avoid hospitalisation.

The first shipment of bamlanivimab containing 2,400 ampoules arrived in Hungary on Wednesday. The human resources ministry has said that another 2,800 ampoules are scheduled to be delivered in the second half of February and 1,000 in the second half of March.

The National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYEI) approved the use of bamlanivimab for the treatment of Covid patients in December.