NHS Trials Breakthrough Treatment Claimed To Stop 100% Of Symptomatic Infections

The creators of a drug currently being trialled by the NHS say it is 100% effective in protecting against symptomatic cases of COVID-19.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals claims its antibody drug, REGEN-COV, reduces overall coronavirus cases by 50%, Sky News reports.

The results are based on the confirmatory stage of the trials, which will not be complete until the second quarter of 2021, however it is hoped the drug could help ‘break the chain’ of infections.

REGEN-COV was trialled on 400 people, all of whom had a family member with COVID-19 living in the same house.

Regeneron boss George Yancopoulos said that even with the vaccine rollout, hundreds of thousands of people are still ‘actively spreading the virus to their close contacts’.

‘The REGEN-COV antibody cocktail may be able to help break this chain by providing immediate passive immunity to those at high risk of infection, in contrast to active vaccines which take weeks to provide protection,’ he continued.

The drug works by combining two antibodies, which together create a protein on the surface of the virus, blocking infections of SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.

REGEN-COV will be given to anyone considered to need ‘immediate protection’, particularly those who live with or who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive.

However, it will also be administered to people who ‘respond poorly to vaccination’ as it already includes antibodies, rather than relying on the body to produce its own, as with traditional vaccines.

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