What is Regeneron’s ‘antibody cocktail’? The experimental Covid-19 drug taken by Donald Trump

(Source The Telegraph) The antibody cocktail taken by Donald Trump is an experimental therapy that uses two or more lab-engineered antibodies that is believed to reduce levels of the coronavirus and improve a patient’s symptoms. Mr Trump was given the drug before being taken to hospital on Friday after experiencing symptoms of Covid-19. The antibody cocktail, produced by US biotechnology company Regeneron, is still undergoing clinical trials and has not received any form of regulatory approval. Regeneron said it had the best results on people who had not already mounted an immune response to the virus. While the company’s recent results only involved a small number of patients, and the data has not yet been peer reviewed, many experts believe the synthetic antibody treatment could be the best hope of turning the deadly virus into a treatable illness. They are “a real best chance of being a game changer,” according to Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health. The experimental therapy works by the synthetic antibodies imitating the body’s own disease-fighting response. The aim is to boost a person’s immune defence, instead of waiting for the body to produce its own response, and before the virus can cause too much harm.