Covid-19: Regeneron finally authorized in the United States
The headquarters of Regeneron, in Westchester, the company that manufactures the eponymous treatment.
REUTERS - Brendan McDermid
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The American Medicines Agency (FDA) on Saturday granted an emergency authorization for treatment with synthetic antibodies against Covid-19 from the company Regeneron, in particular used to treat President Donald Trump.
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This change comes after administration of REGEN-COV2, a combination of two laboratory-made antibodies, has been shown to reduce Covid-19-related hospitalizations or emergency room visits in patients with secondary illnesses or "
comorbidities
”.
"
Allowing these monoclonal antibody therapies could allow patients to avoid hospitalization and ease the burden on our health care system
," said FDA official Stephen Hahn.
Regeneron President Leonard Schleifer assured that this decision was "
an important step in the fight against Covid-19, because high-risk patients in the United States will have access to promising therapy at the start of their infection
."
Most effective during the initial phase of infection
In early October, Donald Trump had received this cocktail of “monoclonal” antibodies developed by the American company Regeneron, and which he had widely praised after his recovery.
These antibodies mimic what the immune system does after infection with the coronavirus, by going to block the tip of the virus that allows it to attach to and penetrate human cells.
It is considered to be more effective during the initial phase of infection, when the antibodies still have a chance to control the invader, and not during the second phase of Covid-19, when the danger is no longer the virus itself. same but the overreaction of the immune system which attacks the lungs and other organs.
Regeneron's antibody therapy is the second synthetic antibody therapy to receive “Emergency Use Clearance” (EUA) from the FDA.
A similar therapy developed by the American company Eli Lilly had already obtained this status on November 9.
Regeneron has received more than $ 450 million from the US government for its efforts to develop drugs against Covid-19.
(AFP)
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