Antibody cocktail improves clearance of SARS-CoV-2 virus

(HealthDay) – Interim analysis of data from an ongoing Phase 1 to 3 trial shows that a cocktail of antibodies improves clearance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2), according to a study published online on December 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

David M. Weinreich, MD, of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, New York, and his colleagues examined two fully human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein used in a combined cocktail (REGN-COV2) to reduce the risk of emergence of a mutant resistant to treatment. A total of 275 patients were randomized to receive placebo, 2.4 g REGN-COV2 or 8.0 g REGN-COV2 and were characterized as antibody-positive or negative serum at baseline.

The researchers found that the mean least squares difference (combined REGN-COV2 dose groups versus placebo) in the time-weighted average change in viral load from day 1 to day 7 was −0.56 log_ten copies / mL and −0.41 log_ten copies / mL in patients who were serum antibody negative at baseline and in the overall trial population, respectively. In the overall trial population, 6 and 3 percent of patients in the placebo and combined REGN-COV2 groups, respectively, reported at least one medically assisted visit; the corresponding percentages were 15 and 6 percent among those who were baseline serum antibody negative. Hypersensitivity reactions, infusion reactions and other adverse events did not differ between the REGN-COV2 and placebo groups.

“Our analysis suggests that a cocktail of antibodies against SARS-CoV2 may also be an effective antiviral therapy, improving viral clearance and thus leading to better results, especially in patients with slow immune response to the virus. start, ”the authors write.

Several authors have disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which partially funded the study.

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