Ashley Regional Medical Center Offering Monoclonal Antibody Treatment for COVID-19 Patients
January 19, 2021
Hospital among first in the Basin to begin offering new therapy designed to lessen severity of virus
January 19, 2021 (Vernal, UT) – Ashley Regional Medical Center announced today the hospital is offering bamlanivimab, a new monoclonal antibody therapy, for treatment of non-hospitalized patients with a mild or moderate case of COVID-19. Developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, the drug recently received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is now being allocated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in partnership with the Utah Hospital Association (UHA) and the Utah Department of Health (UDOH).
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful viruses. Bamlanivimab is specifically designed to help block the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevent the virus from further infecting healthy cells. Administered intravenously, this innovative treatment is designed to help lessen the severity of COVID-19 in individuals who are COVID-19-positive and are at risk for developing a severe form of the disease.
“Ashley Regional Medical Center is proud to offer this treatment locally for qualifying patients, and our team has seen promising results in our initial patients,” said Adam Nielson, MD, an emergency physician at Ashley Regional. “Offering this treatment locally is an important step forward in helping prevent the most at-risk patients from being hospitalized due to COVID-19.
Patients must meet specific clinical criteria including having a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 that is mild or moderate; having underlying health conditions (such as diabetes, kidney disease, immune suppression or a BMI > 35) or > 65 years of age; and being stable enough not to require hospitalization. As bamlanivimab is an investigational treatment, the hospital’s supply is limited and carefully allocated by UHA and UDOH and requires an order from the patient’s provider.
For more information about monoclonal antibody treatment now available at Ashley Regional Medical Center, click here.