A new drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals called REGN-COV2, administered to President Donald Trump after his positive COVID-19 diagnosis, is now being studied in Columbus at the IACT Health research facility.
In the medical research world, this new treatment in the fight against COVID-19 is being called an “antibody cocktail.”
According to IACT CEO and leading medical investigator Dr. Jeff Kingsley, the drug is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (REGN10933 and REGN10987).
“The antibody cocktail is interesting because what we are looking at is not only being able to bind up the spike protein so that COVID can’t enter your body, and if it is in your body, can’t enter additional cells in your body. But we are also looking at ways to improve your immune response at the same time,” Kingsley said.
There are a couple of requirements before being admitted into the study. “You have to be over the age of 18, you have to have proven COVID-19, and you have to have a symptom onset in under roughly seven days,” Kingsley said.
This clinical study is different from studies that IACT has conducted in the past in regards to a vaccine for COVID-19. There is no limit to how many patients can be enrolled. But patients will be monitored for some time following the administration of the antibody treatment.
Kingsley said there is an opportunity for patients who enroll in the study to involve their families as well.
“We have a sister study going along with it, the exact same antibody cocktail that could be given to that person’s family members or household contacts to try to prevent them from catching COVID-19 from the person who got the diagnosis in the first place,” Kingsley said.
Kingsley said that the more patients who enroll, there is a higher likelihood of speeding up the process and sending the medical research information collected to the FDA for approval so this antibody treatment can be available to the masses.
The White House recently denied the FDA’s stamp of approval for those vaccines for safety concerns. Kingsley said it’s likely we won’t see anything until some time after the presidential elections now.
Watch the interview: https://bit.ly/3iKUQEg