Eli Lilly starts human study of potential COVID-19 antibody treatment

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Lilly is seen on a wall of the Lilly France company unit, part of the Eli Lilly and Co drugmaker group, in Fegersheim near Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2018. Picture taken February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday it had started an early-stage trial to test its potential treatment for COVID-19, in the world's first study of an antibody treatment against the disease.

Lilly is one of the several drugmakers and research institutions that are working on vaccines, antivirals and other treatments to help those infected with the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, which has already killed over 370,000 worldwide.