What Does Regeneron's Experimental Antibody Cocktail Do?

Early Friday morning, President Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Later that afternoon, the President received an experimental COVID-19 drug still in clinical trials according to a White House statement. The drug, an "antibody cocktail," is manufactured by biotechnology company Regeneron

President Trump has since been taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, "out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts," according to press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

Sean P. Conley, DO, FACEP, President Trump's physician, stated in the memo that the President received an 8-gram dose of polyclonal antibodies produced by Regeneron. In addition to the antibody, the President has been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin, and daily aspirin.

Here's what we know about Regeneron's antibody cocktail.

Findings Are Preliminary

On Tuesday, Regeneron announced promising results for its antibody cocktail, called REGN-COV2. In preliminary results from a trial of 275 non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the drug reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19. But the study has yet to be peer-reviewed, and the drug has not received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Initial data from the study found that this treatment showed the greatest improvements in patients "who had not mounted their own effective immune response prior to treatment," according to the Regeneron press release.

A high dose (8 grams), which is the amount given to President Trump, seemed to have the greatest effect. But in the group with detectable levels of their own antibodies, even a lower dose (2.4 grams) of the Regeneron antibodies seemed to result in patients getting better faster.

For patients who did not have detectable antibodies at the study’s outset, Regeneron’s antibody cocktail improved symptoms as well. In this group, symptoms were alleviated in 13 days on placebo, eight days in the high-dose group, and six days in the low-dose group.

Who Can Get It?

Because the drug is not yet approved by the FDA, this treatment is not available to the general public. Regeneron was allowed to release the drug under the "Compassionate Use Request" in which the FDA permits usage to people not in clinical trials.

Certain criteria are require for this usage:

• The disease is serious or immediately life-threatening.
• No treatment is available or approved treatments haven't helped the condition.
• The patient isn't eligible for clinical trials of the experimental drug.
• A doctor agrees there are no other options and the experimental treatment may help.
• A doctor feels the benefit justifies the potential risks of the treatment.
• The company that makes the drug agrees to provide it.

According to The New York Times, Regeneron’s chief executive, Leonard S. Schleifer, MD, PhD, stated that this isn't the first time the treatment has been granted compassionate use by the FDA. “When it’s the president of the United States, of course, that gets—obviously—gets our attention," he said.

Regeneron plans to rapidly discuss initial clinical trial results with regulatory authorities.

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.