Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for the casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail, known as REGEN-COV® in the U.S. and Ronapreve™ in the European Union (EU) and other countries. The positive opinion is for people aged 12 years and older for the treatment of non-hospitalized patients (outpatients) with confirmed COVID-19 who do not require oxygen supplementation and who are at increased risk of progressing to severe COVID-19, and to prevent COVID-19. A final decision from the European Commission regarding the approval of the antibody cocktail is expected in the near future.
The positive opinion is based on two positive Phase 3 trials involving more than 6,000 individuals that evaluated the efficacy and safety of the antibody cocktail to treat non-hospitalized patients already infected with SARS-CoV-2, and to prevent symptomatic infection in asymptomatic household contacts of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals (both uninfected and infected contacts).
Regeneron invented the antibody cocktail and is collaborating with Roche, who is primarily responsible for development and distribution outside the U.S. In addition to this Marketing Authorization Application, the companies intend to submit a future Type II Variation to the EMA that seeks to expand the potential indication to include the treatment of patients hospitalized because of COVID-19.
In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for priority review the first of two Biologics License Applications (BLAs) for REGEN-COV to treat COVID-19 in non-hospitalized patients and as prophylaxis in certain individuals. The second BLA submission will focus on those hospitalized because of COVID-19 and is expected to be completed later this year.
In the U.S., REGEN-COV has not been approved by the FDA, but is currently authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for use in certain?post-exposure prophylaxis?settings and as a treatment for non-hospitalized people with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of serious consequences from COVID-19.
Regeneron and Roche share a commitment to making the antibody cocktail available around the globe and will support access in low- and lower-middle-income countries through drug donations to be made in partnership with public health organizations.
The development and manufacturing of REGEN-COV have been funded in part with federal funds from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, under OT number: HHSO100201700020C.
About the REGEN-COV Antibody Cocktail
REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies that was designed specifically to block infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune® and VelociSuite® technologies. The two potent, virus-neutralizing antibodies that form the cocktail bind non-competitively to the critical receptor binding domain of the virus’s spike protein, which diminishes the ability of mutant viruses to escape treatment and protects against spike variants that have arisen in the human population, as detailed in Cell and Science.
Multiple analyses have shown that the antibody cocktail retains potency against the main variants of concern, including Delta (first identified in India), Gamma (first identified in Brazil), Beta (first identified in South Africa) and Mu (first identified in Colombia), with information available in the Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers. Regeneron will continue actively monitoring the potency of REGEN-COV against emerging variants.
REGEN-COV has not been approved by the FDA, but is currently authorized for emergency use for the treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis in certain high risk individuals. In the U.S., REGEN-COV is not authorized as a substitute for vaccination against COVID-19, or for pre-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19, or for use in patients who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 or require oxygen therapy, or for people currently using chronic oxygen therapy because of an underlying comorbidity who require an increase in baseline oxygen flow rate due to COVID-19. This authorization is for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency uses under section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner. Additional information about REGEN-COV in the U.S. is below (authorized uses and important safety information).
Emergency or temporary pandemic use authorizations are currently in place in more than?40?countries, including the U.S., in several countries in the EU, India, Switzerland and Canada, and?the antibody cocktail?is?fully approved in Japan and conditionally approved in the United Kingdom and Australia.
In the U.S., REGEN-COV is available for free to?eligible people as part of a?U.S.?government funded program, and in September Regeneron announced a new agreement with the U.S. government to supply an additional 1.4 million 1,200 mg doses of REGEN-COV by January 2022. Information on how to access REGEN-COV throughout the U.S. is available from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Infusion Center Association.
About Regeneron’s VelocImmune Technology
Regeneron’s VelocImmune technology utilizes a proprietary genetically engineered mouse platform endowed with a genetically humanized immune system to produce optimized fully human antibodies. When Regeneron’s President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos was a graduate student with his mentor Frederick W. Alt in 1985, they were the first to envision making such a genetically humanized mouse, and Regeneron has spent decades inventing and developing VelocImmune and related VelociSuite technologies. Dr. Yancopoulos and his team have used VelocImmune technology to create approximately a quarter of all original, FDA-approved fully human monoclonal antibodies currently available. This includes REGEN–COV® (casirivimab and imdevimab), Dupixent® (dupilumab), Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent® (alirocumab), Kevzara® (sarilumab), Evkeeza® (evinacumab-dgnb) and Inmazeb™ (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn).
