Regeneron Says COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail Reduced Viral Load, Need For Medical Care In Late-Stage Trial

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc REGN said Wednesday data from late-stage clinical trials is indicative that its antibody cocktail for COVID-19 both reduced viral load and need for medical attention.

What Happened: The antibody therapy reduced COVID-19-related medical visits by 57% among non-hospitalized patients, according to a company statement.

Regeneron said that the therapy led to an average of 10-fold reduction in viral load compared with a placebo, by day 5 of the treatment.

“We continue to see the strongest effects in patients who are most at risk for poor outcomes due to high viral load, ineffective antibody immune response at baseline, or pre-existing risk factors,” said George D. Yancopoulos, chief scientific officer at Regeneron. 

The New York-based drugmaker said that a significant finding of the trial was that no difference was found in the virological or clinical efficacy between an 8-gram dose of the REGN-COV2 therapy and a 2.4-gram one.

Why It Matters: “Regeneron is reviewing potential changes to dosing in the ongoing outpatient clinical trial given the current limited supply of REGN-COV2,” the drugmaker disclosed.

The company has shared the results of the trial with the United States Food and Drug Administration who are in the process of evaluating the therapy for an emergency use authorization (EUA). 

“We continue to focus on completing our ongoing trials evaluating REGN-COV2 for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19,” said Yancopoulos.

President Donald Trump was administered the therapy after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Trump touted it as a “Cure” and said later that he had authorized his administration’s efforts to roll out the antibody therapies on a EUA basis. 

A study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found Eli Lilly and Company’s LLY antibody therapy as ineffective in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

REGN-COV2 Phase 3 trial in non-hospitalized patients and Phase 2/3 trial for hospitalized patients is still underway.

Price Action: Regeneron shares traded almost 2.3% higher at $580 in the after-hours session on Wednesday after closing nearly 2.7% lower at $567.04.