Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday a single dose of its antibody cocktail reduced the risk of contracting COVID-19 by 81.6% in the two to eight months period following the drug’s administration in alate-stage trial.
The results showed that antibody therapy, REGEN-COV, has the potential to provide long-lasting immunity from COVID-19 infection, said Myron Cohen, who leads monoclonal antibody efforts for the US National Institutes of Health-sponsored COVID Prevention Network.
Such immunity is particularly important for immunocompromised people and those not responding to vaccines, the company said.
The therapy had previously shown 81.4% risk reduction during the first month afteradministration.
During the 8-month assessment period, there were nohospitalizations for COVID-19 in the REGEN-COV group, but in theplacebo group 6 such incidents were recorded, Regeneron said.
The US health regulator in July expanded REGEN-COV’sauthorization to enable its use as a preventive treatment inpeople exposed to infected individuals, and those at high riskof such exposure in settings such as nursing homes or prisons.
It was authorised in the United States last November totreat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease.
