New Covid antibody drug being trialled on NHS found to ‘prevent 100% of symptomatic infections’

A NEW Covid drug trialled on the NHS has been found to stop 100 per cent of symptomatic infections.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc revealed this week its experimental antibody cocktail could be used as a “passive vaccine” to block coronavirus.

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Encouraging trials found REGEN-COV entirely stopped symptomatic cases, after being given to people exposed to a household member with the virus. 

It was also found to reduce overall infections by 50 per cent in the first week after exposure.

Experts behind the trial, run with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), report it significantly reduced the length of illness infected people.

Patients were injected with the cocktail, made up of lab-enhanced antibodies designed to mimic how the body would react to an invading virus. 

The reason behind giving people the antibodies is to boost their body’s immune system without relying on its own immunity to destroy the virus. 

George D Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said: “Even with the emerging availability of active vaccines, we continue to see hundreds of thousands of people infected daily, actively spreading the virus to their close contacts. 

“The REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may be able to help break this chain by providing immediate passive immunity to those at high risk of infection, in contrast to active vaccines which take weeks to provide protection.” 

Former US President Donald Trump received a small shot of the two-antibody cocktail when he caught Covid in October.

PROMISING SIGNS

He credited it with “curing” him after he was stuck down with the virus. 

Prof Stephen Evans, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “It is called a “passive vaccine” because it is used for prevention of Covid disease but given to people before they are exposed to the virus, just like an ordinary vaccine. 

“As a prevention of Covid disease it would probably be too expensive for very widespread use (we are not informed of its cost), but it could be very useful in situations where people are at very high risk of exposure to the virus and their own immune system is deficient in its response to any standard Covid vaccine.”

Dr Penny Ward, chair of the Education and Standards Committee of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, said: “Vaccination will prevent disease but takes 14-21 days to take effect: in an immediate contact situation, this is too long to prevent illness which may, in an individual at high risk, be fatal. 

“This approach could protect patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer, enable control/prevention of outbreaks in an institutional setting and reduce pressure on health services."

'MUCH MORE TREATABLE'

It comes as another clinical study is being launched to see if two Covid antibody treatments could be combined to help patients tackle the virus.

British drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and clinical-stage immunology company Vir Biotechnology's treatment, known as VIR-7831, will be given to low-risk patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 alongside bamlanivimab, developed by US pharmaceutical company Lilly.

Both VIR-7831 and bamlanivimab are monoclonal antibodies - man-made proteins that act like natural human antibodies in the immune system.

Trials for the combination therapy are set to take place in the US and Puerto Rico.

Yesterday NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens told MPs he believes coronavirus could become a "much more treatable disease" over the course of the next six to 18 months as more Covid-19 treatments become available.

On Tuesday evening, Boris Johnson vowed to fight the pandemic with "greater resolve" after it was revealed the UK passed the tragic milestone of 100,000 deaths.

He said the huge death toll "exhausts the thesaurus of misery" and represents "an appalling and tragic loss of life".

The PM announced: "I'm sorry to have to tell you that today the number of deaths recorded from Covid in the UK has surpassed 100,000."