Biotechnology company Regeneron has begun clinical trials of its REGN-COV2 cocktail, a two-antibody therapeutic for COVID-19, with recent funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The therapeutic proposes to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It uses two neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to do so, large quantities of which have been already manufactured. A cocktail made from these antibodies has the potential to help patients recover quicker while granting them more time to develop antibodies of their own.
Yet Regeneron is hopeful REGN-COV2 could prove to be more than a treatment; the company also hopes to see its efficacy as a preventative in those not yet infected.
Regeneron has a proven track record with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sporting a portfolio of seven approved treatments and various product candidates currently in development. Regeneron, like many companies, has shifted focus to COVID-19 as a result of the ongoing pandemic, which has infected more than 8 million people worldwide. Approximately one-quarter of those cases have been in the United States.
Currently, no FDA-approved COVID-19 treatments exist. Regeneron intends to try, though, and its multi-antibody approach attempts to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus so thoroughly it would require multiple mutations simultaneously to avoid neutralization. Whether this bears out will be determined by phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, which will chart its safety and efficacy among both hospitalized and non-hospitalized patient volunteers.