短短8个月，COVID-19抗体鸡尾酒疗法将感染风险降低了82%

From 2020 to 2021, the COVID-19 epidemic has rebounded many times, and the original SARS-CoV-2 virus has also mutated many times. Currently, bad news is coming from Europe again, with more than 1.8 million new confirmed cases. Sporadic outbreaks have also occurred in China, but the epidemic prevention and control situation is impressive, and the number of confirmed cases and deaths does not exceed a thousand people. Recently, the first oral drug to treat COVID-19 has also been launched, providing another dose of "reassurance" for the general public, but reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection is still critical.

On November 9, 2021, biotechnology giant Regeneron announced that its antibody cocktail therapy reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by nearly 82% within 8 months.

The company announced the results of a clinical trial conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on November 8, 2021.

"During the 8-month evaluation period, there were 0 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 infection in the REGEN-COV arm compared to 6 in the placebo arm," Regeneron said. "The fully human antibodies in REGEN-COV are designed to provide durable protection without the need for any artificial mutations or sequences."

Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines are more than 90% effective against severe disease, while Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is about 86% effective against severe disease, according to a comparison conducted by Yale School of Medicine.

"Although most people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, infection cannot be completely protected," said Regeneron President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos, Ph.D.

The REGEN-COV antibody cocktail combines two monoclonal antibodies. Regeneron further stated that these antibodies bind to the virus's spike protein (specifically the "receptor binding domain") in a non-competitive manner and therefore also protect against mutated viruses.

The trial began in early 2021 and will allow subjects to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they wish after the primary efficacy period (1 month). Vaccination rates for the remaining months of the trial were "balanced," with COVID-19 vaccination rates at 35% in both the REGEN-COV and placebo groups.

The trial tracked 1,683 people (aged 12 to 92) who had not been infected with COVID-19 and had no antibodies, with a median age of 43.

Long-term results from the study have not yet been released, but an analysis of its one-month efficacy and outcomes was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in September.

This cocktail has not yet been approved by the FDA, but is currently authorized for use in treatment and post-exposure regimens in certain high-risk populations.

Regeneron submitted two separate biologics license applications (which have been accepted by the FDA), seeking approval for both ambulatory and hospitalized patients.

References:

https://www.foxnews.com/health/regeneron-covid-antibody-cocktail-reduced-infection-risk