Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc., another drugmaker developing COVID-19 drug, says it found promising results in battling the virus’s early stages.
Regeneron released reports that their experimental drug has aided sick, non-hospitalized patients. The experimental drug is a two-antibody medication that helped decrease virus levels and better symptoms. The drugmaker also says that they are speeding up drug development, which could be one of the first to medicate early-stage illnesses caused by the coronavirus.
Moreover, the drug is also being used in research to treat hospitalized patients to prevent COVID-19 to those exposed. However, no guaranteed date for the results is to be expected.
Jefferies analyst Michael Yee told Reuters, “It is unclear, though possible, that the Regeneron cocktail could work in a hospital setting where the patient is already severely ill and has a high viral load.”
Regeneron also said that they are planning to immediately discuss results from the early trials with different regulatory organizations, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to kick start their application for emergency use authorization (EUA).
The REGN-COV2 provided promising results from 275 patients, meaning the said drug could give patients a substitute for naturally-occurring immune response. It also suggests that the experimental drug can help patients whose immune systems aren’t strong enough to fight coronavirus.
The pharmaceutical company also told CNBC that its experimental drug could stop the virus from being undetected.
“What I think is fascinating is that it shows that antibodies matter and the antibody to the spike protein was beneficial, particularly when people made the antibodies themselves… Whether it’s antibody therapy or a vaccine that targets these proteins, it sounds like we are on the right track. I think that’s encouraging.”
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, Division of Infectious Diseases Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham
According to CNN, Marazzo was also encouraged by the decrease in the viral infection in people’s throats, which means that the risk of infecting other people is significantly decreased.
“If it plays out and you could treat people early and reduce the viral load in the nasopharynx, and they might be less infectious, that would be hugely helpful.”
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo
Experts say that the Regeneron antibody cocktail shows promising results. Meanwhile, Regeneron said that more trial results would be delivered. Additionally, Regeneron Chief Scientific Officer George Yancopoulos said, in a conference call with Reuters, that they are hoping that their trial results will support the EUA.
Summary: Regeneron antibody cocktail shows promising results in treating the early stages of diseases caused by the coronavirus. They are hoping to be granted a EUA by regulatory organizations.
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