US President Donald Trump has been given an experimental antibody cocktail for COVID-19 under 'compassionate use' provisions. Here's what we know about the treatment.
REGN-COV2 — which contains an antibody made by Regeneron and a second isolated from humans who recovered from COVID-19 — is designed so that its two antibodies bind to the coronavirus' spike protein, limiting the ability of viruses to escape.
Mr Trump's doctors "must be sufficiently concerned with what they are seeing that they decided to use an experimental medicine … Experimental drugs are by definition risky," said Edward Jones-Lopez, an infectious disease specialist at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Data so far is limited for COVID-19 antibodies, but US infectious disease chief Anthony Fauci is among those saying it has promise.trial results showing its drug improved symptoms in non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients, and said it planned to talk with the Food and Drug Administration about an emergency use authorisation.Mr Trump will receive medical care at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre.
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