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Testing of possible coronavirus treatment
Scientists at Westchester-based Regeneron are working on drug treatments to fight COVID-19.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - As FOX 5 NY reported in February, the federal government commissioned Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown to look into a virus that, at the time, had infected tens of thousands of people across dozens of countries.
Now a global pandemic, with millions infected, the coronavirus has proven its widespread contagion. And now the scientists at Regeneron are working on drug treatments to fight COVID-19.
"That antiviral antibody approach is in a way what a vaccine tries to get you, but it's a synthetic way of getting those antibodies," co-founder and chief scientist George Yancopoulos said. "It's a great short term stop gap and a bridge to an ultimate vaccine answer.
He said his scientists began sorting and selecting the most potent antibodies in April to begin animal trials for a COVID-19 drug treatment. Yancopoulos said human trials could begin in June.
"Hopefully to both treat people. Treat advanced patients, early patients," he said. "And also prophylaxis to prevent disease with people that haven't yet been exposed to the virus but now they won't have to worry about being exposed because they'll all have these antibodies flowing in their blood."
Yancopoulos said Regeneron's rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara is also being repurposed for testing on COVID-19 patients but it is too early to tell if it will work.
But the more promising news is that the vice president of infectious disease research at Regeneron came up with an antibody cocktail to treat Ebola a few years ago. The combination reportedly cut the death rate from that virus in half once Ebola reappeared in Congo last year.
"It's the same thing. Making viruses against the coronavirus," Yancopoulos said. "He's already made these antibodies and the scientists are scaling them up."
Regeneron chose its final antibodies to test on monkeys. If there are no signs of toxicity into those monkeys, human trials can begin as soon as 60 days from now. And even though the drug treatment may not be as effective as a vaccine, the hope, if this works, is to return to semi-normal life and of course save lives.