Washington, Oct. 14, (dpa/GNA) – Pharma concern Eli Lilly said that a clinical trial testing an antibody treatment for the novel coronavirus has been halted over a safety concern.
The trial is supported by the US government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – the body headed by Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert – and was halted by a safety monitoring board.
More details were not made available.
A day earlier, Johnson & Johnson said it was putting a coronavirus vaccine trial on hold after one participant became ill.
It is not unusual for trials to be halted as researchers and oversight bodies check on illnesses or other potential problems, but the two recent incidents do show that rolling out new drugs safely can take time.
In an email, Eli Lilly said the halt was taken “out of an abundance of caution.”
GNA