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RECOVERY trial: new treatment saves lives

  • 16 June 2021
  • 1 min read

A new treatment can help save the lives of hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19, the NIHR-supported RECOVERY study has found.

The monoclonal antibody combination is effective among those who were unable to generate an antibody response of their own before beginning treatment.

The REGEN-COV treatment - a combination of two antiviral monoclonal antibodies - reduced the risk of death and the length of hospital stay.

These results mean that for every 100 such patients treated with this treatment, six lives would be saved.

Developed by biotechnology company Regeneron, the antibody treatment works by binding to two different sites on the coronavirus spike protein, neutralising the ability of the virus to infect cells.

RECOVERY is looking into a range of treatments for COVID-19 and more than 1,350 people have taken part in the study in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire.

The University of Oxford’s Prof Peter Horby, the study’s joint Chief Investigator, said: “These results are very exciting. The hope was that by giving a combination of antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 virus we would be able to reduce the worst manifestations of COVID-19. There was, however, great uncertainty about the value of antiviral therapies in late-stage COVID-19 disease.

“It is wonderful to learn that even in advanced COVID-19 disease, targeting the virus can reduce mortality in patients who have failed to mount an antibody response of their own.”

In June 2020, dexamethasone, a  commonly used steroid, was the first drug shown by the trial to improve survival for hospitalised patients.

In February 2021, the trial reported that anti-inflammatory treatment tocilizumab reduces the risk of death. It also helped researchers discover which treatments were of no clinical benefit, with azithromycin, colchicine, convalescent plasma, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir and aspirin ruled out as potential treatments.

Read more at the NIHR website

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