Monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy, also called monoclonal antibody infusion treatment, is a way of treating COVID-19. The goal of this therapy is to help prevent hospitalisations, reduce viral loads and lessen symptom severity.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck as a lightning. From just few cases in January 2020, until full closedown of countries in March 2020. The first period was characterised with uncertainty and panic. In Europe we really understood the severity of the situation when Italian doctors told the world how patients died in huge numbers every day, and that they could do nothing in order to cure the condition. They could only offer supporting treatment as the disease developed, and at the end of the patient life – a comforting hand to hold.

The global focus was at this point to stop or reduce the spread of the virus (SARAS-CoV-2). Societies closed down. People was forced to wear face masks in public. Home office, Teams and Zoom meetings were the new buzzwords. Doctors started to develop more optimal supporting treatments, but there was no cure on the horizon yet. Let’s not forget that in April 2020, President Donald Trump took to the White House briefing room and encouraged his top health officials to study the injection of bleach into the human body as a means of fighting Covid. Also, not to forget Trumps Trump suggests hydroxychloroquine may protect against COVID-19. This caused countries to order millions of pills and have doctors overwhelmed by patients asking for subscription of these pills. Trials showed that this drug had no positive effect on treating COVID-19. Instead, the treatment might increase the mortality rate.

During fall 2020 we learned that several pharmaceutical companies was in the process of developing promising treatments based on the use of monoclonal antibodies. These are antibodies that are similar to the ones your body would naturally make in response to infection. However, monoclonal antibodies are mass-produced in a laboratory and are designed to recognise a specific component of this virus — the spike protein on its outer shell.

By targeting the spike protein, these specific antibodies interfere with the virus' ability to attach and gain entry into human cells. They give the immune system a leg up until it can mount its own response.

Celltrion, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, had their monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, approved by the EMA on the 26th of March 2021.

«EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has completed its review on the use of the monoclonal antibody regdanvimab (also known as CT-P59) to treat patients with COVID-19. This review was undertaken to provide a harmonised scientific opinion at EU level to support national decision-making on the possible use of the antibody prior to marketing authorisation. The Agency concluded that regdanvimab can be used for the treatment of confirmed COVID-19 in adult patients who do not require supplemental oxygen therapy and who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.»

As of today, several monoclonal antibody treatments are approved by the FDA and EMA. In USA where we unfortunately see huge parts of the population, unwilling to take the COVID-19 vaccine – health authorities have issued restrictions on the use of these drugs, just to ensure that all states are getting access to the limited amount of this drug. Monoclonal antibody treatment is not a substitute for taking the COVID-19 vaccine. It is an effective drug to treat people with underlaying conditions, to reduce the severity of the infection.

Many more monoclonal antibody treatments are under development. This drug will most likely be a standard treatment in the future for selected group of patients.