WHO approves Regeneron as third treatment against Covid-19

World, (September 24, 2021).- The World Health Organization ( WHO ) on Friday officially recommended a third COVID – 19 treatment, the Regeneron, a synthetic antibody-based drug, particularly for the elderly and people with immune problems.

The treatment is recommended for patients “with non-severe symptoms of covid and at high risk of hospitalization”, such as the elderly or those with immunodeficiency problems (who suffer from cancer or have just undergone a transplant, for example).

The opinion of the WHO experts was published in the medical journal The BMJ.

Then-US President Donald Trump accepted this treatment, still in an experimental phase, when he tested positive for covid-19, between September and October 2019.

Regeneron is also recommended for patients who have “a severe or critical condition and who are seronegative, that is, they have not developed their own antibody response” to the infection.

“For all other types of covid-19 patients, the benefits brought by such antibody treatment are unlikely to be significant,” explained The BMJ in its press release.

Conceived by biotech company  Regeneron, the drug is marketed under the name Ronapreve by Roche, AFP noted.

This new treatment combines two laboratory-made antibodies (called “monoclonal”), Casirivimab and Imdevimab. Injected intravenously, they help boost the immune system.

Because the product is expensive and low in availability, WHO negotiates with Roche for a price reduction, especially for low- and middle-income countries.

The WHO already recommended last year the systematic use of corticosteroids for patients severely affected by the virus. And last July he also recommended another class of drugs, the “interleukin 6 antagonists” (tocilizumab and sarilumab), in addition to corticosteroids.

Source: El Heraldo de México