SARASOTA, Fla. — “What we've learned about this virus and how to treat this virus from a scientific point of view is mind-boggling,” Dr. Manuel Gordillo said.
Gordillo is the principal investigator of the clinical trial on Regeneron at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
“The Regeneron actually has two monoclonal antibodies, that's why they call it a cocktail,” Gordillo said.
The study of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' REGN-CoV-2 antibody cocktail is being clinically researched under three trials at the hospital.
The first is for treating COVID-19 patients that are hospitalized, the second is for non-hospitalized adults and the third is given to healthy adults who must be around positive COVID-19 carriers.
“This is more a preventative; it’s not a treatment trial," Gordillo said. “We give it to patients that were exposed within four days and then, therefore, to prevent them from getting the infection.”
SMH is currently enrolling healthy adults in its clinical trial testing this Regeneron experimental antibody cocktail to potentially prevent COVID-19.
Gordillo says the study should prove relatively quickly whether the lab-created antibody cocktail is effective at both preventing and treating the virus.
The study is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, in which participants receive either the REGN-CoV-2 antibody or a placebo.
The data for these trials is limited, but Gordillo says the outpatient trials are showing some positive results.
“The one that has the highest amount of virus are the ones that benefit the most,“ Gordillo said. “The one that has less virus, but more antibodies means that they’ve been infected for longer and their own immune system is already fighting that, they benefit less.”
He says the higher amount of coronavirus inside a person, the more effective the experimental cocktail is.
If the cocktail proves effective, the treatment may lessen the severity of the disease in people battling COVID-19, reduce hospitalizations and complications and ultimately may help stop the spread of the virus in the community, Gordillo said.
“Regeneron is the first pharmaceutical company that has received substantial amount of financial support from the government,” Gordillo said. “Regeneron received $450 million from the government to produce the antibodies, as we are undertaking the clinical trials, so if it happens to be effective it’s going to be available immediately.”
To see if you qualify for one of these three trials CLICK HERE.
RELATED: Sarasota Memorial tests new antibody cocktail designed to potentially stop the spread of COVID-19
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