Promising interim data from a unique Phase 3 trial testing the efficacy of a monoclonal antibody cocktail developed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has been announced by pharmaceutical company Regeneron. The preliminary results suggest this novel treatment is 100 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infection, but despite these positive signs there are concerns the prohibitive cost of producing monoclonal antibody therapies will severely limit widespread use.
Last week pharma company Eli Lilly revealed its monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 is 80 percent effective at preventing viral infection. Not to be outdone, Lilly’s major monoclonal antibody competitor Regeneron is now announcing early results from its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial.
Monoclonal antibody treatments are a little different to vaccines. Instead of teaching a body how to produce antibodies against a virus, monoclonal antibodies are a single dose of lab-produced antibodies intended to either prevent infection or reduce the severity of a disease for a short period of time.
Regeneron’s therapy is called REGEN-COV and it comprises two different but complimentary types of lab-engineered antibodies developed to rapidly stop the virus from replicating inside an infected patient. These kinds of monoclonal antibody therapies are designed to be administered to subjects at high-risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, or given to patients at the very earliest stage of COVID-19.
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