INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Company says it is now testing a treatment for COVID-19 on human patients.

Lilly says patients at major medical centers in the United States have received a dose of the antibody treatment that Lilly says directly attacks the virus.

The company said it hopes to have the results of Phase 1 testing by the end of the month.

“At the same time, as we are investigating safety and efficacy, we are also starting large-scale manufacturing of this potential therapy,” said Daniel Skovronsky, the president of Lilly Research Laboratories. “We want to be ready to deliver it to patients as quickly as possible, with the goal of having several hundred thousand doses available by the end of the year.”