US ends Eli Lilly COVID trials

US government officials are putting an early end to a study testing an Eli Lilly antibody drug for people hospitalised with COVID-19 because it doesn't seem to be helping them.

Independent monitors had paused enrolment in the study two weeks ago because of a possible safety issue.

But on Monday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsors the study, said a closer look found no safety problem but a low chance that the drug would prove helpful for hospitalized patients.

In a statement Lilly notes that the government is continuing a separate study testing the antibody drug in mild to moderately ill patients, to try to prevent hospitalization and severe illness.

The company also is continuing its own studies testing the drug, which is being developed with the Canadian company AbCellera.