(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. struck a $720 million deal with Eli Lilly & Co. for supplies of an experimental Covid drug that appears to fight the omicron variant that’s sweeping the country. 

Under the agreement, Lilly will provide the Department of Health and Human Services with 600,000 doses of bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody under U.S. regulatory review for treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid in certain high-risk patients. 

The new drug is a bid for a Covid comeback by Lilly, whose earlier antibody cocktail was pulled from U.S. treatment programs after it proved ineffective against omicron, which accounts for almost all U.S. cases of the disease. Lab tests of bebtelovimab demonstrate that it neutralizes omicron and the BA.2 subvariant that’s also spreading in some countries. 

“Should the BA.2 subvariant grow in proportion in the U.S., this potential treatment may help ensure that we can continue to offer monoclonal antibody treatment that works against that strain of the virus,” HHS said Thursday in a statement announcing the purchase agreement. 

HHS said that it will make the drug available to states free of charge if the Food and Drug Administration clears it for emergency use. According to the department, 300,000 treatment courses would be available in February, followed by another 300,000 in March. 

The U.S. retains an option to purchase another 500,000 doses through the end of July, Lilly said in a statement. Lilly rose 0.3% in trading after U.S. markets closed. 

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