Breakthrough coronavirus drug may treat and even prevent infections

[Chris Smith]

• A coronavirus drug breakthrough has been able to both treat and prevent COVID-19 infections in early tests, and it could be a huge development before vaccines are ready.
• Monoclonal antibody therapies target the virus’s ability to replicate inside the body, and several companies have started clinical trials.
• Regeneron will conduct four distinct random trials for a drug called REGN-COV2, which contains two potent antibodies that should also block the virus if it mutates.

A report in early May said that revolutionary new coronavirus drugs might be ready this summer, referring to monoclonal antibody therapies that were in development at several pharmaceutical companies. These are medications that incorporate the chemical substances capable of blocking the virus from replicating once a person is infected. That's actually what the immune system does when a new pathogen is discovered. It creates special antibodies that can counteract that particular infection and provide immunity against future infections. That's actually what vaccines do, too. They train the body to produce the right antibodies early, which then can prevent infection. That's why monoclonal antibodies are so desirable — they can provide short-term immunity to patients and treat people who can't fight the virus on their own.

Since May, we saw a few of the companies involved in monoclonal antibody drug development announce clinical trials, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is the latest one to go forward with testing on humans. The company will conduct four separate trials that are meant to study the efficacy and safety of monoclonal therapies for both treating COVID-19 cases and preventing the infection.

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Breakthrough coronavirus drug may treat and even prevent infections originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 12 Jun 2020 at 10:56:28 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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