General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
TARRYTOWN, NY – Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on September 29 announced the first data from a descriptive analysis of a seamless Phase 1/2/3 trial of its investigational antibody cocktail REGN-COV2 showing it reduced viral load and the time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19. REGN-COV2 also showed positive trends in reducing medical visits. The ongoing, randomized, double-blind trial measures the effect of adding REGN-COV2 to usual standard-of-care, compared to adding placebo to standard-of-care.
This trial is part of a larger program that also includes studies of REGN-COV2 for the treatment of hospitalized patients, and for prevention of infection in people who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients.
"After months of incredibly hard work by our talented team, we are extremely gratified to see that Regeneron's antibody cocktail REGN-COV2 rapidly reduced viral load and associated symptoms in infected COVID-19 patients," said Greek-American Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. "The greatest treatment benefit was in patients who had not mounted their own effective immune response, suggesting that REGN-COV2 could provide a therapeutic substitute for the naturally-occurring immune response. These patients were less likely to clear the virus on their own, and were at greater risk for prolonged symptoms. We are highly encouraged by the robust and consistent nature of these initial data, as well as the emerging well-tolerated safety profile, and we have begun discussing our findings with regulatory authorities while continuing our ongoing trials. In addition to having positive implications for REGN-COV2 trials and those of other antibody therapies, these data also support the promise of vaccines targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein."
The descriptive analysis included the first 275 patients enrolled in the trial and was designed to evaluate anti-viral activity with REGN-COV2 and identify patients most likely to benefit from treatment; the next cohort, which could be used to rapidly and prospectively confirm these results, has already been enrolled. Patients in the trial were randomized 1:1:1 to receive a one-time infusion of 8 grams of REGN-COV2 (high dose), 2.4 grams of REGN-COV2 (low dose) or placebo. All patients entering the trial had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 that was being treated in the outpatient setting. Patients were prospectively characterized prior to treatment by serology tests to see if they had already generated antiviral antibodies on their own and were classified as seronegative (no measurable antiviral antibodies) or seropositive (measurable antiviral antibodies). Approximately 45% of patients were seropositive, 41% were seronegative and 14% were categorized as "other" due to unclear or unknown serology status.
Key data findings include:
Note that since this analysis was considered descriptive, all p-values are nominal.
– Viral load higher than 105 copies/mL: high dose (-0.93); low dose (-0.86) (p=0.03 for both); approximately 50-60% reduction compared to placebo
– Viral load higher than 106 copies/mL: high dose (-1.55); low dose (-1.65) (p<0.002 for both); approximately 95% reduction compared to placebo
– Viral load higher than 107 copies/mL: high dose (-1.79); low dose (-2.00) (p<0.0015 for both); approximately 99% reduction compared to placebo
More than 2,000 people have been enrolled across the overall REGN-COV2 development program, and no unexpected safety findings have been reported by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee.
"Thank you to the global investigators, sites and patients who continue to work with us to conduct REGN-COV2 trials, especially given the unique challenges posed by the pandemic," said Dr. David Weinreich, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Development at Regeneron. "We plan rapidly to submit detailed results from this analysis for publication in order to share insights with the public health and medical communities. Regeneron continues to enroll patients in this trial and all other ongoing late-stage trials evaluating REGN-COV2."
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
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