Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Combo Effective Against Mild to Moderate Covid: Study

The observational study was carried out by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit organization working on innovation in clinical practice, education, and research. Monoclonal antibodies are also prescribed in India.

Almost 1,400 Mayo Clinic patients were included in the study; 696 of them received the drug combo between December 2020 and early April, while an equal cohort did not. Their status was assessed at 14, 21 and 28 days after treatment. At each point, the number of hospitalizations was significantly lower in the treated group.

By day 14, 1.3% of the treated group were in hospital compared to 3.3% of those who had not been treated. By day 21, only 1.3% of those treated were hospitalized, compared to 4.2% of those who had not been treated. After 28 days, 1.6% of those treated were hospitalized compared to 4.8% of those who had not been treated. This resulted in a 60-70% relative reduction in hospitalizations among treated patients. Among those who were subsequently hospitalized, ICU admission and mortality rates were low.

“Once again, this real-world study suggests that when patients at high risk due to a range of comorbidities contract a mild or moderate case of covid-19, this combination of monoclonal injections gives them a chance to no – in other words, they recover safely at home, ”said Raymund Razonable, infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the study.

In a previous study from the Mayo Clinic, published in The Clinical Investigation Journal, the results suggest that the use of bamlanivimab reduces hospitalizations in high-risk patients by 40% to 60%. This study involved 2,335 patients treated at the Mayo Clinic between November 2020 and February. Comparing their results with 2,335 untreated patients, the ICU admission and mortality rates were also significantly lower with monoclonal antibody treatment.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the emergency authorization for bamlanivimab alone in April and now approves the use of combined monoclonal antibodies.

“Our overall conclusion at this point is that monoclonal antibodies are an important treatment option for reducing the impact of covid-19 in high risk patients,” said Razonable. The study was funded and conducted by the Mayo Clinic in collaboration with Nference Inc.