Eli Lilly gets FDA complete response letter for skin treatment after inspection of third-party facility

Eli Lilly & Co. said Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a complete response letter for its lebrikizumab, a treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, after an inspection at a third-party manufacturer. The letter, which means the FDA cannot approve the drug for now, was based on findings from an inspection of a plant that included the monoclonal antibody drug substance for Lilly’s lebrikizumab. “The letter stated no concerns about the clinical data package, safety or label for lebrikizumab,” said Lilly, which is confident the data support its submission package for the medicine. The stock
LLY,
-1.76%
fell 0.6% premarket but is up 47% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX
has gained 11.7%.