Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it started late-stage clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of its antibody cocktail in preventing and treating Covid-19, sending its actions up to nearly 4%.
The test, conducted in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, would test the therapy’s ability to prevent infection in those who have had close exposure to a Covid-19 patient.
The cocktail has also entered the mid-to-late stage phase of two trials testing its effectiveness in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19, Regeneron said.
Regeneron is among the few favorites who have started human trials to test his experimental therapies to fight Covid-19, including Gilead Sciences, Eli Lilly, and AbbVie.
Regeneron began human testing of the antibody cocktail as a treatment for Covid-19 in June, with an “adaptive” design to quickly move to include thousands of patients.
The late-stage trial will be conducted at 100 sites and is expected to enroll 2,000 patients in the US Following a safety assessment of the cocktail in an early-stage trial by an independent committee.
Antibodies are proteins produced by the body’s immune system that recognize, bind, and neutralize an invading virus. The Regeneron cocktail, a combination of an antibody made by the company and a second antibody isolated from patients recovered from Covid-19, is designed to bind the antibodies to the spike protein of the coronavirus.
The drug maker was also testing its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Kevzara, with Sanofi to treat COVID-19, which on Thursday failed to achieve the primary goal of a US study that tested it on patients with Covid-19. more critical.
The pharmacist’s shares rose 3.6% to $ 645 in trading before the bell.
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