SARASOTA, Fla. – Sarasota Memorial is among a number of hospitals that have been allocated a limited supply of monoclonal antibody therapy for non-hospitalized patients who have been diagnosed with a mild-to-moderate case of COVID-19 within the past 10 days, and have a high risk for severe disease or hospitalization.
Eli Lilly and Company and Regeneron’s experimental antibody treatments recently received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The infusion drugs are being allocated to each state, which in turn will be responsible for ensuring an equitable distribution to local health care facilities, with a focus on regions hardest hit by the pandemic. SMH has developed distribution protocols and a screening process based on FDA criteria to ensure the drugs' limited supplies are provided to those high-risk outpatients who can obtain the greatest benefit.
SMH has received a limited supply of the Eli Lilly drug (bamlanivimab) and expects to receive periodic shipments of the drug, as well as Regeneron’s experimental antibody treatment (a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab), in the coming weeks/months, as supplies are available.
To be considered for treatment, patients must be referred by a physician, be 18 years or older, and meet criteria established by the FDA. Click the following links for information about the therapies and criteria for treatment: bamlanivimab fact sheet (English); bamlanivimab fact sheet (Spanish); casirivimab and imdevimab fact sheet.
Information & Referrals: Adults with a mild to moderate case of COVID-19 who are interested in the therapy should speak with their physician. If your physician determines you are a candidate for treatment, he/she will provide a referral to SMH for further screening and treatment.
The therapy is administered through intravenous (IV) infusion, by appointment, in an outpatient care setting. The infusion process takes approximately 1 hour and is followed by a 1-hour observation period.
Please note, at this time, we are not offering the treatment to pediatric patients.