Regeneron Working To Rush 'Cocktail' COVID-19 Antibody To Clinics At Start Of Summer

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN, which is also in the race for a COVID-19 cure, said Tuesday its antibody program could enter the clinics as early as early summer.

The large-cap biopharma said it's proceeding with a two-pronged approach in its quest, having isolated hundreds of virus-neutralizing full human antibodies from its VelocImmune mice, which has been genetically modified to have a human immune system, as well as antibodies from humans who have recovered from COVID-19.

The company said it will select from this large pool of candidates two top antibodies for a "cocktail" treatment based on potency as well as binding ability to the spike of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Regeneron said it's gearing up to produce hundreds of thousands of prophylactic doses per month by the end of the summer. Human testing could start at the beginning of summer.

The company is working with the BARDA to increase the capacity even further.

Aside of this development, Regeneron has also joined with Sanofi SA SNY to evaluate through a Phase 2/3 clinical program the efficacy and safety of their monoclonal antibody Kevzara in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infection.

In pre-market trading, Regeneron shares were adding 10.02% to $485.

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