Antibodies cocktail reduces Covid deaths

A COCKTAIL of synthetic antibodies reduces deaths among severe Covid patients who are unable to mount a strong immune response, results from a major clinical trial showed yesterday.

The therapy, developed by the US biotech firm Regeneron and given to former US president Donald Trump during his brush with the virus, was previously only used to treat patients in the early stages of the disease.

But the Recovery trial based in Britain has found the drug is effective in treating some patients with more acute cases of the virus.

The treatment, called REGN-CoV2, “reduces the risk of death when given to patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19 who have not mounted a natural antibody response of their own”, the researchers said in a press release. The drug uses two synthetic antibodies to bind to sites on the virus’s spike proteins, preventing it from infecting cells.

Developed by US firm Regeneron and Swiss lab Roche, it may be a solution for people who can’t produce enough antibodies on their own. | AFP