Medicine manufacturers are rushing to develop a new generation of Covid-19 medicine to make it easier for patients and to prevent virus mutations that could make some current drugs less effective.
The drugs, known as monoclonal antibodies, are versions of antibodies designed by the laboratory that simulate the body’s natural immune response to viruses. They are considered one of the most promising to prevent infected patients from developing severe or fatal symptoms and keeping them out of the hospital. After capturing Covid-19, President Trump was treated with one of the drugs and attributed it to his speedy recovery. Doctors say the drugs will continue to be important in the foreseeable future as vaccines become more available.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first generation of drugs in November for the treatment of patients who were not yet sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, public health officials feared there would not be enough to go around. But the concern has given way to frustration that the medicine is not being used due to challenges in administering the medicine, which can take about an hour of preparation time before the patient arrives, an hour of infusion and one hour of monitoring to ensure that patients do not suffer from allergic reactions.
To reduce the logistical burden and help patients be treated sooner, researchers are working on new antibody agents that can be given with a quick stab in the arm, similar to flu shots. This will enable patients to be treated quickly after being diagnosed with Covid-19, said Michel C. Nussenzweig, an immunologist and professor at Rockefeller University in New York.
“It changes everything because you can get the chance at CVS and get it at your doctor’s office,” said dr. Nussenzweig said. His laboratory has developed a combination of antibodies that recently began the first Phase 1 safety studies. ‘Intravenous administration is a headache. This is just a cumbersome thing to do. ”