A trial has shown that an investigational new drug to treat COVID-19 in the most affected patients could prevent people from dying.
Regeneron antiviral therapy has been shown to save lives when given to patients with severe symptoms of the virus who have not developed their own natural immune response.
About 10,000 people took part in a UK trial of the drug between September last year and May this year and it was discovered that among those who received it randomly, less than expected had to be put on a ventilator.
The length of their stay in hospital has also been reduced.
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The therapy works by providing patients with artificial antibodies – the substance usually created naturally inside humans to fight infection – that target the virus and prevent it from attacking the body.
The two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, each bind to a different site on the coronavirus spike protein, preventing the virus from infecting cells.
The treatment is expected to be helpful for people who do not have clean antibodies against COVID infection.
The study found that among UK patients admitted to hospital for COVID, about a third had no natural immune response, and a sixth had an unknown immune response.
The researchers found, at the start of the study, twice as many people with no antibody response (30%) died within 28 days compared to those with natural antibodies (15%).
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According to the study, patients who did not have an antibody response and who received the drug had a chance of dying within 28 days.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-16 06:05:00