Regeneron's antibody cocktail gets FDA emergency green light

Food and Drug Administration.
(Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday issued an emergency use authorization for Regeneron's antibody cocktail, a treatment that was given to President Trump in October after he tested positive for COVID-19. Trump credited the cocktail for aiding his recovery.

For now, the authorization applies only to high-risk patients — people over the age of 65 or those who have underlying conditions — and the treatment is meant to be administered in the early stages of an infection; it has not been authorized for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or those who require oxygen therapy.

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The cocktail consists of two monoclonal antibodies that target the spike protein the coronavirus uses to enter cells. A similar therapy developed by Eli Lilly was granted an emergency use by the FDA earlier this month. Read more at Bloomberg and CNN.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.