Eli Lilly and Co. And Incyte reported data from their phase 3 study of baricitinib in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This study, called COV-BARRIER included 1525 patients and did not meet statistical significance on primary endpoints.
Dr. Doron Sagman, Eli Lilly (LLY) Vice President of R&D and Medical Affairs for Canada said, “While we hoped to see a significant benefit on the composite primary endpoint, we were pleased to find a 38 percent reduction in all-cause mortality by day 28 in patients treated with baricitinib, the largest reported effect on mortality to date for hospitalized patients with COVID-19.”
Sagman added, “We will continue to evaluate our findings and remain committed to exploring treatment options for COVID-19.” (See Eli Lilly stock analysis on TipRanks)
In the study, the patients treated with baricitinib showed a 38% reduction in death by day 28.
The company plans to publish detailed results of this study in the coming months and to also share data with regulators in the US, EU, Canada, and other geographies to determine the next steps to use the drug as a potential treatment for COVID-19 patients under hospitalization.
Additionally, the drug is also under evaluation to treat COVID-19 patients together with remdesivir in the ACTT-4 trial.
On April 7, Mizuho Securities analyst Vamil Divan reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and maintained a $228 price target (20.5% upside potential).
Divan said he was “impressed by the Phase 2 donanemab data” and beyond donanemab sees “multiple potential upside drivers to the Lilly story, including diversified near-term top-line growth, continued margin expansion, and a promising pipeline with limited patent loss exposure.”
Consensus among analysts is that Eli Lilly is a Strong Buy based on 10 Buys and 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $231.64 implies upside potential of 22.4%. Shares have gained about 22.3% over the past year.
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