The Tarrytown-based pharmaceutical giant Regeneron this morning released a new analysis of data showing that its monoclonal antibody cocktail known as REGEN-COV is effective against Covid-19 infection.
The drug reduces by 81.6% the risk of being infected by the Covid-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2. The data are from an ongoing clinical trial in which a group of participants received a 1,200-milligram dose of the drug in four injections administered subcutaneously (under the skin).
The clinical trial involved 1,683 people who were tested to be sure they were not infected with Covid and did not have antibodies for the virus. Participants in the trial received either the Regeneron drug or a placebo. It was a double-blind study that initially kept secret the identities of participants who received the monoclonal antibodies and those who did not.
Results showed that by the end of eight months, 108 of the trial participants who received the placebo had developed Covid compared with 20 who received the injections of REGEN-COV. Six people in the placebo group needed to be hospitalized at some point during the trial, while no one who had been given Regeneron”™s drug needed to be hospitalized.
The new data analysis confirms previous findings about Regeneron”™s cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies that was designed specifically to block SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, from infecting people. REGEN-COV currently is authorized for use in the United States to treat people who are at a high risk of becoming seriously ill and are infected but not yet hospitalized, or otherwise qualify to receive the drug as a preventive measure.
Regeneron”™s monoclonal antibody cocktail was given to former President Donald Trump when he was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with Covid-19.
“Today’s new data demonstrate how a single dose of REGEN-COV can help protect people from Covid-19 for many months after administration,” said Myron S. Cohen, a doctor who leads the monoclonal antibody efforts for the Covid Prevention Network, which is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. “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.”
George D. Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said, “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. With infections still occurring despite widespread vaccination, the immunocompromised face an ongoing risk of encountering the virus during their daily lives.”
