Regeneron saves lives from Covid, shows trial in UK

A cocktail of synthetic antibodies reduces deaths among severe Covid-19 patients who are unable to mount a strong immune response, results from a major clinical trial showed on Wednesday.

The therapy, developed by the US biotech firm Regeneron and given to former US President Donald Trump during his brush with the coronavirus, had previously only been used to treat patients in the early stages of the disease. But the Recovery trial based in Britain has found the drug is effective in treating some patients with more acute cases of the virus.

The treatment, called REGNCOV2, “reduces the risk of death when given to patients hospitalised with severe Covid-19 who have not mounted a natural antibody response of their own”, the researchers said.

Researchers looked at 9,800 Covid patients hospitalised between September and May, some of whom were randomly designated to receive antibody treatment in addition to their regular care.

One-third of them, hadn’t developed antibodies against coronavirus at the start of their treatment.

Among those patients, the treatment reduced the likelihood of mortality by one-fifth, as 30% of non-treated patients died after a 28-day period compared with 24% of patients who got treatment.

In France, PM Jean Castex said the requirement for people to wear masks outdoors would be largely lifted from Wednesday, while a Covid curfew will be scrapped from June 20 as infections fall.

In Russia, the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin has ordered mandatory vaccinations for residents of the Russian capital working in the service industry, citing a rise in infections.