The company Regeneron said it has developed a two-antibody treatment that has reduced viral levels and improved symptoms of the novel coronavirus in nonhospitalized patients, CNBC reports.
- The treatment improved symptoms for those who had mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
- The company said it is talking with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the trail results to see if it could seek approval.
What happened:
Regeneron said a study of 275 trial patients found that those “who had not mounted their own immune response prior to treatment” had the greatest results from the treatment, according to CNBC.
- The trial showed that the treatment — called REGN-COV2 — “could provide a therapeutic substitute for the naturally occurring immune response,” CNBC reports.
- REGN-COV2 reportedly reduced the viral load through day seven for those who did not have a strong immune response from their own bodies.
- Symptoms seemed to disappear after 13 days for those who took a placebo, eight days for those who had a high dose of the treatment and six days for those with a low dose, according to CNBC.
- The study found positive trends for reducing medical visits, too, CNN reports.
The data has not been peer-reviewed.
Why it matters:.
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Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, the director of the division of infectious diseases at University of Alabama at Birmingham, told CNN that the research shows this is an early sign of an early treatment.
- “What I think is fascinating is that it shows that antibodies really matter and the antibody to the spike protein was really helpful, particularly when people made the antibodies themselves,” Marrazzo told CNN. “Whether it’s antibody therapy or vaccine that target these proteins, it sounds like we are on the right track. I think that’s really encouraging.”