The American Medicines Agency (FDA) gave, this Saturday, November 21, 2020, its authorization for emergency use (EUA) of the synthetic antibody treatment against Covid-19 developed by the company Regeneron. This is the second antibody treatment to receive this authorization in the United States. Let’s do a check in.
Regen-Cov2, a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies
The antibody treatment developed by the Regeneron company, named Regen-Cov2, is a combination of two antibodies made in the laboratory: casirivimab and imdevimab. In the FDA press release, it read: “ they are proteins made in the lab that mimic the immune system’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses. Casirivimab and imdevimab are monoclonal antibodies specifically directed against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, designed to block virus attachment and entry into human cells “.
During the first clinical trials, the treatment had demonstrated its effectiveness since it made it possible to reduce the amount of virus in infected patients who were not hospitalized (and therefore to reduce the number of hospitalizations) and to accelerate their recovery. This is why the FDA has just given, this Saturday, October 21, its authorization for an emergency use (EUA) of the Regen-Cov2 treatment.
While clinical trials have shown the effectiveness of Regeneron treatment, it has been shown to be effective especially during the initial phase of infection, “ when the antibodies still have a chance to control the invader “. Indeed, Regn-Cov-2 had very little effect when the infected patients already presented antibodies. This is why the treatment is not authorized in patients hospitalized or requiring oxygen therapy due to Covid-19.
The second antibody treatment to receive authorization for emergency use
As a reminder, the Regeneron antibody treatment is the second synthetic antibody treatment to receive authorization for emergency use from the FDA. The first EUA was given on November 9, to the American company Eli Lilly. So far, the Regeneron company has received more than $ 450 million from the US government for its efforts to develop drugs against Covid-19.
According to Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration: “ the FDA remains committed to advancing the country’s public health during this unprecedented pandemic. Authorization of these monoclonal antibody therapies may help ambulatory patients avoid hospitalization and ease the burden on our healthcare system “.
