Pharmalittle: Regeneron says its antibody prevented Covid-19 in a trial; EU threatens to impose vaccine export controls

By Ed Silverman Jan. 26, 2021

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Alex Hogan/STAT

Rise and shine, folks, another busy day is on the way. We can tell because our short person is, once again, hunched over a laptop and our official mascot has an early play date on the campus grounds with another pup from the hood. This leaves us to fire up the trusty coffee kettle and tackle our fluctuating to-do list. On that note, here are a few items of interest to help you on your own journey today, which we hope is productive and meaningful. Meanwhile, stay in touch and stay safe — wear a mask. …

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) reported that its monoclonal antibody cocktail prevented Covid-19 in a clinical trial, STAT notes. The news, issued via a press release, mirrored similar news last week from Eli Lilly (LLY) that its monoclonal antibody prevented symptomatic Covid-19 infections in nursing homes. The results represent the first 400 volunteers from the study, which is being run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and is continuing to enroll patients. The volunteers were at high risk of infection because they lived in the same household as a Covid-19 patient.

The European Union has hit back at AstraZeneca (AZN) for planning to provide fewer doses of its Covid-19 vaccine than expected, saying it wants to see exactly where supplies have been delivered so far, Pharmaphorum says. Moreover, the EU plans to rush through legislation requiring that all companies producing Covid-19 vaccines in the EU have to notify the European Commission when they want to export to third countries. That would include the vaccine from Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX), which is made in Belgium, and has sparked concerns that supplies destined for the U.K. could be held back as a retaliatory move.

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