Antibody: A Promising COVID-19 Drug, But Not a Cure
2020-10-15
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1U.S. President Donald Trump was hospitalized for three days earlier this month after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
2He received several treatments for the disease.
3One was an experimental antibody drug from the American biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
4On 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 therapeutic, but, to me, it's a cure, OK? To me, it's a cure."
5The president added that he wanted the treatment offered to coronavirus patients "immediately."
6But not so fast!
7Leonard Schleifer is head of Regeneron.
8He 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."
9Trump is among fewer than 10 people who received the antibody drug under "compassionate use" rules.
10He was not taking part in a study on the drug's safety and effectiveness.
11The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits use of experimental treatments in seriously ill patients when no other treatments are available.
12Even 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.
13Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs.
14They connect to a virus and help kill the harmful bacteria.
15Vaccines make the body think it has an infection and, in turn, produce antibodies to fight it.
16But it can take several weeks after a vaccine or natural infection for the body to make the most effective antibodies.
17The experimental drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly are very strong antibodies.
18They were created in laboratories and are currently being tested.
19The treatments, in theory, start helping COVID-19 patients right away.
20Regeneron's REGN-COV2 treatment combines a genetically-engineered antibody and a second antibody -- one from recovered COVID-19 patients.
21The company used this process to manufacture a successful antibody treatment for Ebola virus disease.
22This method has also been used to develop drugs to treat other viruses such as HIV, the cause of AIDS.
23Eli Lilly is testing two antibody treatments.
24One involves a single antibody, called LY-CoV555.
25The second treatment combines that antibody with an antibody called LY-CoV016.
26It is meant for higher risk patients.
27Lilly said early results of a study showed the treatment reduced hospital emergency room visits for persons with mild or moderate forms of COVID-19.
28It said the treatment also reduced symptoms of the disease, the amount of the virus and length of hospital stays for such patients.
29Lilly and Regeneron have only reported partial results of their studies.
30Information from the trials has yet to be published or seen by independent scientists.
31On October 13, Lilly announced that it temporarily stopped the combination treatment trials for safety reasons.
32Its treatment is similar to the combined antibody treatment from Regeneron.
33During public health emergencies, the FDA can approve drugs to treat COVID-19 patients based on a lower standard of evidence that is normally required.
34Both Eli Lilly and Regeneron asked the FDA last week for emergency authorization.
35On March 20, the FDA approved the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for emergency use in patients with COVID-19.
36By June 15, the agency withdrew the emergency use authorization and warned against its use.
37At this time, only remdesivir, a medicine developed by Gilead Sciences, has been approved for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
38Remdesivir appeared to help patients with moderate signs of COVID-19 recover faster after a five-day treatment when compared to those receiving other treatments.
39A report on the drug's effectiveness was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in August.
40I'm Jonathan Evans.
1U.S. President Donald Trump 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 Pharmaceuticals. 2On 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 therapeutic, 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." 3But not so fast! 4Leonard 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." 5Trump is among fewer than 10 people who received the antibody drug under "compassionate 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. 6Even 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. 7How do they work? 8Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They connect to a virus and help kill the harmful bacteria. 9Vaccines make the body think it has an infection and, in turn, produce antibodies to fight it. But it can take several weeks after a vaccine or natural infection for the body to make the most effective antibodies. 10The 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 helping COVID-19 patients right away. 11How do the drugs differ? 12Regeneron's REGN-COV2 treatment combines a genetically-engineered antibody and a second antibody -- one from recovered COVID-19 patients. 13The 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. 14Eli 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. 15Lilly 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. 16Lilly and Regeneron have only reported partial results of their studies. Information from the trials has yet to be published or seen by independent scientists. 17On 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. 18When might they be available? 19During 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 authorization. 20On March 20, the FDA approved the malaria 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. 21At 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. 22A report on the drug's effectiveness was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association in August. 23I'm Jonathan Evans. 24Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25__________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27symptom - n. a change in the body which indicates that a disease is present 28therapeutic - adj. producing good effects on your body or mind 29ill - adj. not well or unhealthy 30occur - v. happen 31standard - n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable 32authorization - n. official approval for something