Coronavirus: Regeneron seeks EUA for antibody cocktail treatment

Regeneron is seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an antibody cocktail which has already been used to treat the president for COVID-19.

According to a news release, the drug, called REGN-COV2, is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies designed specifically to block infectivity of the CARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It was developed by studying thousands of human antibodies produced by genetically modified mice as well as those from people who have recovered from COVID-19.

In July, Regeneron announced a $450 million contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to manufacture and supply the antibody cocktail to the U.S. government once it is granted an EUA. The contract calls for Regeneron to supply between 70,000 to 300,000 potential treatment doses, and between 420,000 to 1.3 million prevention doses, according to a news release at the time.

These doses are meant to be supplied to U.S. residents at no cost, the release says.

Currently Regeneron say that there are doses available for about 50,000 patients, with doses for 300,000 patients within the next few months.

CNN reports that the drug is still in large-scale clinical trials but has been made available for compassionate use.

One such patient who has received the drug through compassionate use has been President Donald J. Trump who was administered an 8-gram dose of the drug after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 2.

Regeneron’s cocktail is just one of at least 70 different antibody treatments for COVID-19 currently under investigation, CNN reports.