Regeneron's President On COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail: 'Good News That Could Be Really Big News'

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN said Tuesday that a lower dose of its treatment for COVID-19 reduced hospitalization and death rates.

This is "good news that could be really big news," Regeneron President George Yancopoulos said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

What Happened: The ongoing mass vaccination effort to hopefully put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic shouldn't overlook the fact that many people continue to contract the illness daily, Yancopoulos said.

New cases reported on March 22 in the U.S. totaled 55,621, which is down sharply from a peak figure of more than 300,000.

Thousands of people are still dying from the illness, and the"vaccine is too late for these people," the Regeneron exec said. Sick people still very much need help, and the efficacy of Regenergon's therapy is "so important," he said. 

As part of the largest Phase 3 study of its kind that tested Regeneron's antibody cocktail, a lower dose of the therapy reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by more than 70% among at-risk infected people, Yancopoulos said. 

Among those who are not high-risk, the therapy shortened the duration of symptoms, he said.

"We needed to get great data that would provide enormous confidence." 

Why It's Important: Regeneron's therapy also shows the ability to help people heal from an illness caused by a variant of concern, the executive said.

"This is what the standard of care should be and making it an imperative," he said.

What's Next: The fact that Regeneron's study was conducted at a lower dosage implies the company has sufficient supply for "almost all the high-risk patients who need it every month," Yancopoulos said.

"We now have the drug supply, we now have the data," he said. "I think the data compellingly says that every high risk infected patient should be getting this drug."

REGN Price Action: Regeneron shares lost 2.79% Tuesday, closing at $469.76.