• Eli Lilly asked the US FDA to revoke the EUA it received for, because the monoclonal antibody is not effective against coronavirus variants; the authorization was revoked with hours. The company plans to focus on combining bamlanivimab and etesevimab.
Distribution of bamlanivimab alone was stopped in late March; earlier this month, the US ended its purchase agreement for bamlanivimab alone and canceled the remaining order of 350,856 doses, which will cost Lilly about $440 million (based on the price of $1250 per dose). Source
• Moderna says a shortfall in its European supply chain will lead to smaller deliveries to the U.K., Canada and other countries during the current quarter. Source
• The Wall Street Journal reports that J & J asked AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna to investigate potential clotting risks and speak with a single voice about vaccine safety. AstraZeneca expressed interest in joining forces, but Pfizer and Moderna refused to join an “informal alliance,” saying that their vaccines seemed to be safe and that they did not wish to duplicate the efforts of regulators, but a source at one of the companies said they did not want their vaccine’s safety to be “tarnished by association.” Source