US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co (Lilly) (NYSE:LLY) will stop testing one of its experimental monoclonal antibody treatments in hospitalised COVID-19 patients after a review of results show it did not seem to be helping them, CNN reported on Tuesday.

The company stated that it would continue testing the treatment in patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 disease and would continue testing it as part of a dual-antibody therapy.

Reportedly, the monoclonal antibody, called bamlanivimab, was being tested in hospitalised patients in a clinical trial run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Based on results reviewed on 26 October 2020 that showed patients were not helped by this single antibody treatment, no additional COVID-19 hospitalised patients will get it going forward, Lilly said.

There did not appear to be any safety issues and all the other studies looking at this antibody treatment will continue, Lilly added.

Currently, a trail looking at the impact this antibody treatment could have on patients who have been recently diagnosed with Covid-19 or who have moderate or mild cases is on going.

Also, there is another trial that is looking at its use in combination with a second monoclonal antibody the company calls etesevimab in that same patient population who are early in the course of their disease.

In addition, doctors are testing bamlanivimab on its own to prevent COVID-19 infection in residents and staff in long-term care facilities.

In October 2020, Lilly had filed a request with the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorisation of bamlanivimab in patients with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.