Regeneron hopes US will greenlight COVID-19 antibody drug soon

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said United States health regulators were doing a careful analysis of its experimental antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19 and that it was hopeful the drug could be authorised for emergency use in the country soon. The treatment, which was given to US President Donald Trump during his COVID-19 infection, has been under review by the US Food and Drug Administration since last month. “We hope that it will reach a successful conclusion. But we don’t know the timeline,” Regeneron Chief Executive Officer Leonard Schleifer said during a conference call to discuss the company’s earnings. The company has said that clinical trial data shows the drug reduced medical visits in patients with mild to moderate cases. The antibody treatment would be the first drug designed specifically to fight COVID-19 and could become a tool in the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than one million people globally. Based on clinical trials, Regeneron expects emergency use authorisation could be granted for outpatients, a group that it believes would benefit the most from the drug. About 80,000 doses of the treatment could be ready by the end of this month, and 300,000 doses by the end of January, Regeneron said.