CVS Health picked to do COVID-19 antibody infusions in homes/long-term care facilities

As part of Operation Warp Speed, Coram, the infusion care business of CVS Health, will provide timely patient access to new monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of COVID-19 

Underscores role of CVS Health as a diversified health services company and expands work underway with HHS and Operation Warp Speed as CVS Health also prepares to administer COVID-19 vaccines

Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) was selected today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as part of Operation Warp Speed, to pilot the administration of a limited supply of bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody therapy, with eligible COVID-19 patients at-risk of severe infection or complications resulting from the virus. Under this pilot, Coram, the specialty pharmacy and infusion care business of CVS Health, will administer the intravenous therapy in patients’ homes or long-term care facilities to help meet the growing demand for these new treatments. Coram and its more than 800 certified and highly trained nurses across the country are a prime example of how CVS Health offers diversified health services to transform health and meet people where they are – whether in normal times or during the ongoing pandemic.

As COVID-19 rates surge in many parts of the country, Coram also has worked to help keep patients out of inpatient and hospital settings altogether, alleviating pressure on the health care system and preserving important hospital resources for the most critical patients.Since early in the pandemic, Coram has partnered with hospitals to safely transition eligible infusion patients home to help ensure hospital bed capacity to treat COVID-19 patients. Importantly, today’s announcement also expands the integral role of CVS Health on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. This includes work underway with HHS and Operation Warp Speed to administer COVID-19 vaccines when available, as well as a national COVID-19 testing infrastructure, which has enabled the company to perform more than eight million tests across more than 4,300 retail testing locations and onsite at workplaces and campuses around the country since the start of the pandemic. 

“These newly available, important COVID-19 treatments can make a difference for patients at high risk for severe illness or complications, but they need to be administered intravenously by health care providers and with the appropriate clinical expertise and oversight,” said Sree Chaguturu, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Caremark and Senior Vice President, CVS Health. “Our Coram model allows us to meet patients where they are during the pandemic by delivering safe, clinically appropriate home-based care, and we stand ready to deploy our teams when and where the need is greatest as supply of these new monoclonal antibody treatments ramp up over the coming year.” 

Coram will begin administering 1,000 doses of monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of COVID-19 in seven cities and their surrounding communities starting Thursday, December 3, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Tampa, as new COVID-19 infections continue to rise rapidly in these regions. Following the pilot, and as drug supply increases, Coram will scale this solution to additional markets in areas of greatest need.

To be eligible for bamlanivimab through Coram, and in accordance with the therapy’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, patients must not be hospitalized, be within 10 days of symptom onset, at least 12 years of age or older, weighing at least 40 kilograms (or 88.2 pounds), and at high risk for progressing to severe disease and/or hospitalization. 

Patients can be referred to Coram for treatment from a hospital, urgent care or telemedicine appointment, long-term care facility or their primary care physician following a positive diagnosis. There is no out-of-pocket cost to the patient for this care. 

“Patients can rest assured they are receiving the best care possible through Coram in the safety and comfort of their own home or long-term care facility, and Coram is poised to continue to meet shifting health care demands as the importance and value of home-based care will undoubtedly outlive the pandemic,” added Prem Shah, Pharm.D., Executive Vice President of CVS Specialty and Product Innovation. “This established and experienced clinical service further demonstrates CVS Health’s unique ability to touch all aspects of a person’s health to make their experience more accessible and affordable.”

More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic is available at the company’s frequently updated COVID-19 resource center.

About CVS Health

CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs. Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable and simply better. Learn more about how we’re transforming health at www.cvshealth.com.

About Operation Warp Speed

On May 15, 2020, President Donald J. Trump officially announced the public-private partnership. The purpose of Operation Warp Speed is to coordinate Health and Human Services-wide efforts, including the NIH ACTIV partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, the NIH RADx initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.

Operation Warp Speed was formed to encourage private and public partnerships to enable faster approval and production of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.