Antibody: A Promising COVID-19 Drug, But Not a Cure

U.S. President Donald Trump¹ was hospitalized for three days earlier this month after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. He received several treatments for the disease. One was an experimental antibody drug from the American biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals².

On Sunday, Trump told Fox News "The antibody kind of thing that I took, I felt really good almost after taking it. ... I know people call it a therapeutic³, but, to me, it's a cure, OK? To me, it's a cure." The president added that he wanted the treatment offered to coronavirus patients "immediately."

But not so fast!

Leonard Schleifer is head of Regeneron. He told CBS News, "The president's case is a case of one, and that's what we call a case report, and it is evidence of what's happening, but it's kind of the weakest evidence that you can get."

Trump is among fewer than 10 people who received the antibody drug under "compassionate⁴ use" rules. He was not taking part in a study on the drug's safety and effectiveness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits use of experimental treatments in seriously ill patients when no other treatments are available.

Even if it is not a cure like Trump said, Regeneron and drug-maker Eli Lilly are now asking the FDA to permit emergency use of their antibody drugs in patients with COVID-19.

How do they work?

Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They connect to a virus and help kill the harmful bacteria.

Vaccines⁵ make the body think it has an infection and, in turn, produce antibodies to fight it. But it can take several weeks after a vaccine⁶ or natural infection for the body to make the most effective antibodies.

The experimental drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly are very strong antibodies. They were created in laboratories and are currently being tested. The treatments, in theory, start helping⁷ COVID-19 patients right away.

How do the drugs differ?

Regeneron's REGN-COV2 treatment combines a genetically-engineered antibody and a second antibody -- one from recovered COVID-19 patients.

The company used this process to manufacture a successful antibody treatment for Ebola virus disease. This method has also been used to develop drugs to treat other viruses such as HIV, the cause of AIDS.

Eli Lilly is testing two antibody treatments. One involves a single antibody, called LY-CoV555. The second treatment combines that antibody with an antibody called LY-CoV016. It is meant for higher risk patients.

Lilly said early results of a study showed the treatment reduced hospital emergency room visits for persons with mild or moderate forms of COVID-19. It said the treatment also reduced symptoms of the disease, the amount of the virus and length of hospital stays for such patients.

Lilly and Regeneron have only reported partial results of their studies. Information from the trials has yet to be published or seen by independent scientists.

On October 13, Lilly announced that it temporarily stopped the combination treatment trials for safety reasons. Its treatment is similar to the combined antibody treatment from Regeneron.

When might they be available?

During public health emergencies, the FDA can approve drugs to treat COVID-19 patients based on a lower standard of evidence that is normally required. Both Eli Lilly and Regeneron asked the FDA last week for emergency authorization⁸.

On March 20, the FDA approved the malaria⁹ drug hydroxychloroquine for emergency use in patients with COVID-19. By June 15, the agency withdrew the emergency use authorization and warned against its use.

At this time, only remdesivir, a medicine developed by Gilead Sciences, has been approved for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Remdesivir appeared to help patients with moderate signs of COVID-19 recover faster after a five-day treatment when compared to those receiving other treatments.

A report on the drug's effectiveness was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in August.

Words in This Story

symptom - n. a change in the body which indicates that a disease is present

therapeutic - adj. producing good effects on your body or mind

ill - adj. not well or unhealthy

occur - v. happen

standard - n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable

authorization - n. official approval for something

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

4 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

5 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

9 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。