Regeneron announced that a single dose of its antibody therapy reduces the risk of developing COVID-19 for at least eight months. The two-drug cocktail, called REGEN-COV, is currently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients who have mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19 and those who have been exposed to the virus and have a high risk of developing severe complications.
While the treatment has not been authorized for people who have not been exposed to the virus, the pharmaceutical giant hopes the treatment could become an alternative to vaccination, especially for immunocompromised individuals.
"Today's new data demonstrate how a single dose of REGEN-COV can help protect people from COVID-19 for many months after administration," Myron S. Cohen, M.D., said in a press release. "These results demonstrate that REGEN-COV has the potential to provide long-lasting immunity from SARS-CoV-2 infection, a result particularly important to those who do not respond to COVID-19 vaccines including people who are immunocompromised."
Regeneron said that the antibody cocktail reduced the risk of infection by nearly 82%. There were no hospitalizations in the group of participants who received the drug, compared to six in the group that was given a placebo. No deaths were reported during the clinical trial.
Regeneron has asked the FDA to expand the authorization for the treatment to include individuals who have not been diagnosed or exposed to COVID-19.
"These data add to the increasing body of evidence supporting use of REGEN-COV to prevent COVID-19 in uninfected individuals, which may be especially useful for the many immunocompromised people who do not respond adequately to vaccines and remain 'prisoners of the pandemic.' With infections still occurring despite widespread vaccination, the immunocompromised face an ongoing risk of encountering the virus during their daily lives. We intend to rapidly share these additional data with regulatory authorities to help those in most need of protection from COVID-19," Regeneron President and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. George Yancopoulos said.