Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
The company found that a single dose of its antibody cocktail therapy--known as REGEN-COV--reduced the risk of severe COVID infections by 81%. This time the treatment was administered through a simple under-the-skin injection, not intravenously as previously administered.
The late-stage study enrolled 1,500 healthy volunteers who shared a home with someone who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and randomized them to receive either a single dose--given in four shots--of Regeneron's antibody treatment or an inert placebo. After 29 days, only 11 participants in the treatment group developed COVID-19 compared to 59 in the placebo group. Moveover, for the volunteers who received the treatment but developed COVID-19, their symptoms resolved after one week, compared to three weeks for the placebo group.
Additionally, for the more than 200 patient who already tested positive for COVID-19 when the study began, the single dose reduced the risk of symptomatic infection by 31%.
"With more than 60,000 Americans continuing to be diagnosed with COVID-19 every day, the REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may help provide immediate protection to unvaccinated people who are exposed to the virus," said Dr. George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, in a press release. "We are also working to understand its potential to provide ongoing protection for immunocompromised patient who may not respond well to vaccines."
The results of this study are similar to a study conducted by Eli Lilly
Regeneron's therapy was the antibody cocktail given to former President Donald Trump shortly after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 last October. At the time, the FDA had authorized the drug to treat adults with mild-to-moderate COVID infections and children at least 12 years of age who tested positive and are at high risk of severe disease.