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Regeneron Begins First Clinical Trials of Anti-Viral Antibody Cocktail REGN-COV2 for the Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinical program consists of four separate study populations: two for treatment and two for prevention First
About this update from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"TARRYTOWN, N.Y., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --\nClinical program consists of four separate study populations: two for treatment and two for prevention\nFirst studies evaluate safety and efficacy in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19\nTwo-antibody 'cocktail' is designed to help protect against viral escape\nRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced initiation of the first clinical trial of REGN-COV2, its investigational dual antibody cocktail for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The REGN-COV2 clinical program will consist of four separate study populations: hospitalized COVID-19 patients, non-hospitalized symptomatic COVID-19 patients, uninfected people in groups that are at high-risk of exposure (such as healthcare workers or first responders) and uninfected people with close exposure to a COVID-19 patient (such as the patient's housemate). The placebo-controlled trials will be conducted at multiple sites. \n\"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,\" said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. \"REGN-COV2 could have a major impact on public health by slowing spread of the virus and providing a needed treatment for those already sick – and could be available much sooner than a vaccine. The antibody cocktail approach may also have long-term utility for elderly and immuno-compromised patients, who often do not respond well to vaccines. Ultimately, the world needs multiple solutions for COVID-19, and the innovative biopharma industry is collectively working hard to help as many people as possible with a variety of complementary approaches.\" \nRegeneron scientists evaluated thousands of fully-human antibodies produced by the company's proprietary VelocImmune® mice, which have been genetically-modified to have a human immune system, as well as antibodies isolated from humans who have recovered from COVID-19. They selected the two most potent, non-competing and virus-neutralizing antibodies and have scaled them up for clinical use with the company's in-house VelociMab® and manufacturing capabilities. The two antibodies bind non-competitively to the crit...