Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced on Monday that its antibody cocktail can reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections for up to eight months.
In a news release, the company shared that a single dose of the cocktail, REGEN-COV, can reduce the risk of catching the virus by 81.6% during 2 to 8 months after receiving it. In the first month, it was found that risk was reduced by 81.4%.
Regeneron also reported that during the 8-month assessment period, there weren't any hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the REGEN-COV group and 6 in the placebo group.
When creating the cocktail, Regeneron used "fully human antibodies" that were "developed to provide long-lasting protective effects without any artificial mutations or sequences," the company said in its statement.
The cocktail is 1,200 mg and is administered via four subcutaneous injections.
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The lead of monoclonal antibody efforts for the NIH, Myron Cohen M.D., shared in the release that the cocktail can be utilized by those who do not "respond to COVID-19 vaccines including people who are immunocompromised."
"Today's new data demonstrate how a single dose of REGEN-COV can help protect people from COVID-19 for many months after administration," Cohen said.
The results of clinical trials show that REGEN-COV continues to protect against the virus seven months after receiving the cocktail.
The trial began at the beginning of 2021, following approval for emergency use to treat people with mild COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
In July, the FDA expanded authorization to use the treatment as a preventive treatment. However, the FDA has stated that REGEN-COV is not a replacement for vaccination but rather something to be used in conjunction with the shot.
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The cocktail combines the drug casirivimab and imdevimab; both are monoclonal antibodies, a laboratory protein that can mimic the immune system and target the spike protein, which the virus uses to enter and infect cells.
REGEN-COV will act differently from a vaccine that triggers the receiver's immune system to create antibodies and instead deliver the antibodies into the body.
"In this trial, a single dose of REGEN-COV provided long-term protection against COVID-19, including times of particularly high risk from household exposure, and in the longer-term during ongoing broader exposure," Dr. George Yancopoulos, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Regeneron, said in the statement.
