Regeneron Advances Covid-19 Drug Into Later-Stage Testing
July 06 2020 - 12:40PM
Dow Jones News
By Joseph Walker
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday it is starting
later-stage studies of its experimental Covid-19 drug, a quick move
into testing that could establish whether the drug can be used for
treatment and prevention.
Regeneron's drug, REGN-COV2, is among the most advanced in a
class of medicines known as monoclonal antibodies being developed
to treat Covd-19. Eli Lilly & Co. was the first company to
start human safety studies of two separate antibody drugs, followed
by Regeneron.
Regeneron began experiments to design antibodies for Covid-19 in
early February, and started initial human studies four months
later, in June. The drug combines an antibody derived from mice
with genetically engineered immune systems and an antibody taken
from a patient who recovered from Covid-19.
Regeneron said its drug's performance in a safety study of 30
hospitalized and nonhospitalized Covid-19 patients received a
positive review from an independent data-monitoring committee.
The company is now beginning larger trials of the drug as a
treatment for infected patients and to provide temporary protection
against new infections.
The treatment studies, combining the final two stages, or phases
2 and 3, of testing, will evaluate REGN-COV2 in hospitalized and
nonhospitalized patients.
The study of hospitalized patients is expected to enroll 1,850
study subjects, and the study of nonhospitalized is expected to
enroll 1,050 subjects, the company said.
Preliminary study data from the two studies of infected patients
are expected later this summer, the company said.
In addition, Regeneron and the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases are starting a phase 3 study of REGN-COV2 to
provide temporary protection against new infections in people who
have had close exposure to Covid-19 patients, such as
housemates.
Monoclonal antibodies are designed by pharmaceutical companies
to mimic human antibodies that people naturally develop to
neutralize foreign pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. The
drugs have previously been shown to help prevent deaths from the
Ebola virus.
Write to Joseph Walker at joseph.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 06, 2020 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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