US human trials begin for first antibody cocktail that might treat and prevent COVID-19

A medicine that may treat and prevent Covid-19 is now being tested in patients in multiple sites around the United States, according to an announcement Thursday from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

According to CNN, it is the first trial of a Covid-19 antibody cocktail in the United States. If successful, Regeneron hopes it could be available by the fall.

The clinical trial started Wednesday. Regeneron said its antibody cocktail will be tested in four separate study populations: people who are hospitalized with Covid-19; people who have symptoms for the disease, but are not hospitalized; people who are healthy but are at a high risk for getting sick; and healthy people who have come into close contact with a person who is sick.

“We have created a unique anti-viral antibody cocktail with the potential both to prevent and treat infection, and also to preempt viral ‘escape,’ a critical precaution in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic,” Dr. George Yancopoulos, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said in a press release. “Ultimately, the world needs multiple solutions, and the innovative biopharma industry is collectively working hard to help as many people as possible with a variety of complementary approaches.”

Antibodies are proteins the body naturally makes to protect the body from a threat like Covid-19. To make what’s called monoclonal antibodies for an antibody cocktail, scientists comb through thousands of antibodies to figure out which ones fight the novel coronavirus most effectively.

In this case, Regeneron’s scientists picked two antibodies, scaled them up and put them into a medicine that it hopes can be used to treat symptoms or and as protection for vulnerable communities such as the elderly or health care workers.

The first part of the trial will check to see if the antibody therapy is safe to be used in humans. Scientists will also want to if it works.

An antibody treatment is not a vaccine and does not provide permanent protection. But this kind of passive immunization works right away, and could potentially be available before a Covid-19 vaccine.

Regeneron is not the first company to get a Covid-19 antibody therapy into human trials. Eli Lilly and AbCellera started testing their antibody treatment in humans June 1. That trial uses a single antibody in its therapy. Eli Lilly has also started a second clinical trial in China of another single antibody treatment it created with Chinese company Junshi Biosciences. Eli Lilly said that they will test combinations of antibodies in the future. There are a handful of other companies working on additional antibody therapies.

Tarrytown, New York-based Regeneron has successfully created other US Food and Drug Administration-approved antibody therapies that fight eye problems, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Regeneron’s Ebola treatment worked so well, its clinical trial was stopped early in August 2019. Data showed it was better at saving lives than some of the other therapies being tested. The FDA accepted REGN-EB3 for priority review in April. The agency is expected to make a decision about whether to OK the Ebola therapy by October.

Regeneron scientists said they had spent years preparing for a pandemic like Covid-19.

“Most scientists have said for years there’s potential for pandemics like this novel coronavirus to emerge,” Regenron scientist Kristin Pascal previously told CNN. “So we thought, let’s be prepared.”

To get ready, Pascal and her team ran speed challenges to see exactly how fast they could create a treatment for an emerging threat. They did it for MERS and Ebola and they hope all that practice will pay off against Covid-19.

The company, which some financial backing from the US Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority to develop the Covid-19 therapy, said it set a company speed record by creating REGN-COV2 in months.    (CNN)

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Buy and read digital replicas of your TRIBUNE titles by subscribing through E-VENDING

Buhari Expresses Shock Over Boko Haram’s Attack On Gubio
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed deep shock at Boko Haram’s attack on Gubio village, Borno State in which the terrorists killed many people. A statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday night by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) said as news of “one the most brutal terrorist… Read full story

Foreign Herdsmen: No Law Stopping Cross-Border Movements ― FG
Despite the menace posed by foreign herdsmen, the Federal Government has said that there are currently no laws preventing cross-border movements. The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who stated this on Wednesday at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, however… Read full story

Police Arrest Man For Raping 40 Women In Kano
The Police Command in Kano State has arrested a 32-year-old man, Muhammad Alfa, for allegedly raping 40 women in the past one year in the state. The Spokesman of the Command, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday in Kano… Read full story

I Have No Problem With Makinde ― Alaafin
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, on Wednesday, said he held no grudge against Governor Seyi Makinde. There had been insinuations that Oba Adeyemi had ill-feeling towards Makinde following the recent siting of a mobile police force squadron in Ago-Are, Oke-Ogun area of the state… Read full story

Africa’s COVID-19 Cases Over 200,000 ― WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Africa are more than 200,000. The WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter handle @WHOAFRO… Read full story

UPDATE: FEC To Initiate Tougher Action Against Rapists
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has announced that more decisive action is to be taken against rapists henceforth as the government has expressed worries about the upsurge in the menace. This followed a presentation by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, to the council meeting presided over… Read full story

Nigeria, India, DR Congo Home To Over 33% Of World’s Poorest, Says World Bank
The World Bank has said that more than a third of the world’s poorest people live in Nigeria, India and Democratic Republic of Congo, even as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes about 100 million people into extreme poverty. Those who live on less than $1.90 per day are categorised as being in extreme poverty… Read full story

COVID-19: Kogi Directs Workers On Levels 01-10 To Resume
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has directed civil servants on Salary Grade Levels 01-10 to return to work on June 15. The directive was contained in a statement issued in Lokoja on Wednesday by the state Head of Service, Mrs Deborah Ogunmola… Read full story

Another Death In Aso Rock As Aisha Buhari Loses Protocol Officer
Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, on Wednesday, announced that she lost a protocol officer, Sani Yekini, after battling with diabetes. Aisha, who made the announcement in a tweet on her official Twitter handle, described Yekini who has been working with her for four years as “a very committed… Read full story

COVID-19: Senator Ndume Advocates Part-Time Status For Lawmakers, Reduction In Salary
Senator representing Borno south and Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, has advocated part-time status for lawmakers in the country due to the dwindling effect of COVID-19. In a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday, the lawmaker who sought for the office of Senate President last… Read full story

N2.2bn Land Scam: Deposed Emir Sanusi Appeals Judgment
The deposed Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Wednesday, appealed a judgment delivered by a Federal High Court dismissing his right of fair hearing against the Kano state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission. Counsels to the emir, Messrs Dikko and Mahmoud, filed the appeal on Wednesday… Read full story

Orange Juice Excellent For Tooth Disorders, Heart Diseases —Experts
THE orange contains a variety of health-promoting properties. The fruit is a rich source of protective food ingredients like vitamin A, B, C and calcium. Recent studies have proven its superiority to any other fruit as a source of calcium. The orange also contains sodium, potassium, magnesium, copper, sulphur and chlorine… Read full story

EDITORIAL: The Story Of Majek Fashek
BY the time he died on June 1, aged 57, Majekodunmi Faseke, or simply Majek Fashek to his distraught fans all over the world, had lived his life to full circle. Of course, he was not an old man, but he had arguably seen it all. From the low, deprived, humble beginnings of childhood and the boisterous struggling years of adolescence to the peak of prominence and global fame, then back to the ebb of existence, Majek Fashek had seen it all. Not many older persons could claim to have fumbled and tumbled through life than the man fondly referred to as the Rainmaker… Read full story