Eli Lilly teams with NIH, antibody upstart AbCellera in coronavirus hunt

As the Covid-19 outbreak reaches official pandemic levels and begins to disrupt US life in unprecedented ways, Eli Lilly is joining the hunt for a drug that can treat the infection.

The legacy pharma — not typically known for a rapid R&D engine — is teaming with the NIH, the Vaccines Research Center and a small but well-connected antibody startup out of British Columbia called AbCellera.