Researchers claim they have discovered another life-saving treatment, exactly a year after discovering that an inexpensive steroid medication reduced Covid fatalities. It’s a powerful intravenous design to neutralize the virus rather than reduce the body’s inflammatory response to it. According to the findings, the Recovery study may be able to treat one out of three people in the hospital. Experts estimate that for every 100 patients treated, six lives can make out of it.
Treatment that is revolutionary
The drug, are for those who have not made their own antibodies, costs between £1,000 and £2,000. “I was able to get this ground-breaking medication,” said Kimberley Featherstone, 37, who got the therapy during the study. I’m glad that by taking part, I was able to contribute to the discovery that this treatment is effective”. Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody therapy attaches to the virus, preventing it from infecting cells and reproducing.
“Giving patients this combination of two antibodies by intravenous infusion then really decreases their odds of dying by a fifth,” said joint chief investigator Sir Martin Landray. What we discovered is that we can now employ an antiviral medication, in this instance antibodies, in individuals who have a one-in-three probability of dying if they are not treated, and we can lower their risk.”
Great ambiguity
The therapy is in addition to dexamethasone, a steroid that reduces the risk of mortality in the sickest patients. Sir Peter Horby, the other head investigator, said there had been a lot of debate about whether antibody treatments were the correct strategy after some previous studies had shown little effect. As a Covid treatment, for example, using blood plasma from recovered patients – which includes antibodies that should fight the virus.
However, the antibody therapy utilized in the Recovery study involves substantial doses of two particular antibodies.