TEXAS — Plans are in place for a new antibody therapy drug to be distributed to hospitals across Texas beginning this week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced.

Shipments of Eli Lilly & Company’s bamlanivimab are being provided to Texas at no cost by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Allocation of the drug will be determined based on three criteria: new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community, new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 admissions to hospitals, and total lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in hospitals.

"This initial allotment of bamlanivimab will help health care professionals effectively treat cases of COVID-19 within their communities and aid in reducing hospitalizations," Abbott stated in a news release. "I thank the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for providing Texas with this crucial antibody therapy that will help keep Texans safe and mitigate the spread of COVID-19."

According to the office of the governor, bamlanivimab is designed for outpatient use for people who have tested positive for the virus and are at increased risk of severe disease. The office additionally claims the drug has been shown to reduce hospitalizations in some patients when taken before they become very ill.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier in November granted Emergency Use Authorization for the drug.

“This emergency authorization allows us to make bamlanivimab available as a COVID-19 treatment for recently diagnosed, high-risk patients – adding a valuable tool for doctors fighting the now-increasing burden of this global pandemic,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly’s chairman and CEO. “The rapid development and availability of bamlanivimab could not have been achieved without the relentless work of our Lilly team, collaboration across the industry and the urgent work being done by the government to ensure appropriate allocation to patients who need it the most.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.