Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks forecast CNBC on Monday the pharmaceutical industry’s pursuit of treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus pandemic has been defined by two qualities: hurry and cooperation.
Appearing on “Mad Money,” Ricks referred specifically to the early data released last week for drug maker’s possibility coronavirus treatment using neutralizing antibodies.
“Speed is a hallmark to the industry’s response to Covid-19, and I don’t think most regular listeners understand. We developed this antibody and got to proof of concept in six months,” Ricks said in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “By, that’s more than six years.”
The global health crisis also brought together industry rivals in longings of accelerating the development — and the production — of drugs that may help limit the impact of Covid-19, Ricks said. More than 31.1 million child worldwide have been infected and at least 962,343 have died since the novel coronavirus emerged time last year in China, according to data compiled to Johns Hopkins University.
“One of the reasons we published this details last week was so our competitors who also are developing neutralizing antibodies can learn from that study and adapt their own stabs so we all get more of these things sooner,” said Ricks, who has been Eli Lilly’s CEO and chairman since 2017.
A spirit of cooperation also clarifies why Eli Lilly teamed up with Amgen in a deal announced Thursday, according to Ricks, who described manufacturing as a “huge quandary.” He added, “One drawback of neutralizing antibodies is while they may be pretty safe and they have good effects, they’re definitely hard to make.”
However, Ricks said the partnership with Amgen will allow Eli Lilly — should its antibodies show effective in trials and receive approval from regulators — to “bring more volume to the fight, so that more people round the world can benefit from the therapy like the one we have preliminary data on.”
In August, Eli Lilly began a study looking at whether one of its antibody medicines can prevent coronavirus spread in nursing homes, using an innovative network of mobile labs to facilitate the research. The antibody being contrived was developed alongside AbCellera Biologics, a privately held Canadian biotech firm.
Shares of Eli Lilly closed Monday’s conference at $151.18, falling almost 2%. The stock is up almost 15% year to date.
Questions for Cramer?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Desire to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up!
Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – Instagram
Ridiculouses, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? madcap@cnbc.com