Roche, Regeneron team up on Covid antibody cocktail
Pharmaceutical companies Regeneron and Roche said they were combining expertise to develop an antibody cocktail to fight Covid-19.
Nasdaq 100
17,430.50
12:15 25/04/24
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
$890.68
11:49 25/04/24
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
n/a
16:30 19/03/24
Roche Holding Ag
23,790.00p
13:19 26/04/24
US-based Regeneron said it expected data from trials of its REGN-COV2 in humans next month after it prevented and treated the disease in rhesus macaques and hamsters.
If successful it would sell the drug in the US while its Swiss counterpart would deal with global distribution.
Together with Roche, Regeneron aims to increase the overall production capacity of REGN-COV2 by at least three and a half times in a bid to meet eventual US and global need.
Roche’s own drug, Actemra, failed in a trial against Covid-19.
“REGN-COV2 could provide a much-needed treatment option for people already experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, and also has the potential to prevent infection in people exposed to the virus, thus slowing the spread of the global pandemic,” Roche said in a statement.
The companies said the would jointly fund and run the ongoing late-stage Phase 3 prevention and earlier-stage Phase 1 healthy volunteers safety studies, as well as additional global studies to further evaluate REGN-COV2 in treating or preventing Covid-19.
Roche added that it would be primarily responsible for securing regulatory approvals outside the US, following the initial European Medicines Agency approval, and conducting any additional studies specifically required for approval by regulators outside the US.
“This major collaboration with Roche provides important scale and global expertise to bring REGN-COV2 to many more patients in the United States and around the globe,” said Regeneron chief executive Leonard Schleifer.
The medicine combines one Regeneron-made antibody and a second antibody isolated from humans who recovered from COVID-19. The combination is designed to bind to the spike protein used by the new coronavirus to gain access to human cells, limiting its ability to escape.