E-Paper
‘A bridge to the Covid-19 vaccine’: Trump given Regeneron’s experimental drug
Donald Trump was given the drug at the White House after its maker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc received a compassionate-use request from officials.
US President Donald Trump was given an experimental antibody drug after he tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Thursday. He was given the drug at the White House after its maker Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc received a compassionate-use request from officials.
He is currently in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland and is being monitored. Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has described the experimental drug as a bridge to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Here is everything you need to know about the experimental drug:
* The experimental drug has been manufactured by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, which has developed a successful Ebola treatment from an antibody combo in the past.
* It is a combination of two artificially made antibodies, the immune system naturally makes to fight off infection.
* It is a single-dose therapy and being tested in several clinical trials in both hospitalised Covid-19 patients and patients outside hospitals.
* Monoclonal antibodies are considered one of the most promising potential treatments for Covid-19, and Regeneron is one of the front-runners in testing them.
* Before this, Regeneron said the preliminary result showed that the drug may help treat coronavirus patients outside of the hospital by reducing virus levels and symptoms.
* The trial was conducted of 275 Covid-19 patients and the partial results showed a reduction in virus levels present in the patient.
* As the study is still underway, the preliminary findings have not been published officially or reviewed by the other scientists.
