RESEARCH

Regeneron, following in Lilly's footsteps, wins FDA emergency nod for COVID-19 antibody cocktail

Regeneron | November 24, 2020

Covid-19 Regeneron antibody cocktail, one of the drugs of President Donald Trump was given after he was infected with the SARS-COV-02 virus, had been cleaned for emergency use by the FDA. And, despite the towering vaccine slide, one analyst still sees therapy as a $ 1 billion-plus business.

Authorization of Emergency Use (EUA) for Regn-COV2, a combination of monoclonal antibodies Kasarivimab and IMdevimab, marked the second for antibody therapy. The first to go to Bamlanivimab Eli Lilly, who was given EUA a few days ago.

In addition to the difference between Regn-COV2 is a concoction of several drugs, while Lilly's maintenance contains only one drug, both EUU is almost identical; The two of them for Covid-19 patients were light to medium for a minimum of 12 years old who were not hospitalized but at high risk to advance to Covid-19.

“The emergency authorization of these monoclonal antibodies administered together offers health care providers another tool in combating the pandemic,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

FDA fact sheet detail the criteria for determining "high-risk" patients. These include obese people with more than 35 body mass index, older patients in or more than 65 years, or people with fundamental conditions such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease or breathing conditions, among others.

Data from a phase 1/2 study in 799 patients showed the cocktail could reduce viral load significantly better than placebo did. More importantly, there were lower rates of hospital visits among REGN-COV2-treated patients within 28 days. “This benefit was greatest in patients most at risk for poor outcomes due to high viral load, ineffective immune response at baseline or pre-existing risk factors,” George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Regeneron’s chief scientific officer, said in a statement Saturday.

Through a $450 million agreement signed in July with the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, Regeneron could provide up to 300,000 treatment doses of REGN-COV2 to the federal government for distribution.

The company plans to have the single-dose therapy available to about 80,000 patients by this month and hit the 300,000 mark by the end of January. The U.S. government has a separate $375 million pact with Lilly for 300,000 doses of bamlanivimab.
Antibody drugs are hard to produce, and 300,000 doses are dwarfed in comparison by the 2 million treatment courses Gilead Sciences has pledged to produce of its small-molecule therapy Veklury (remdesivir) by the end of this year. With that limited initial supply, Regeneron CEO Len Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D. warned that demand of REGN-COV2 may exceed supply during the early days.

Spotlight

Pediatric populations represent the most diverse patient
groups in all of medicine. Factors such as individual
preferences, physiology, and dosage considerations all serve to complicate drug formulation aimed at pediatric care.

Spotlight

Pediatric populations represent the most diverse patient
groups in all of medicine. Factors such as individual
preferences, physiology, and dosage considerations all serve to complicate drug formulation aimed at pediatric care.

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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMA TECH

CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals Adopts Digital Validation

CONTINUUS Pharmaceuticals | March 15, 2023

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RESEARCH, PHARMA TECH

AskBio Receives EC Orphan Drug Designation for AB-1003 via BrainVectis

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) | March 01, 2023

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio), a subsidiary of Bayer AG, recently announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted orphan drug designation to AB-1003 (also known as LION-101) for the treatment of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). AB-1003 is an investigational recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy that is being developed as a one-time intravenous infusion for patients with LGMD type 2I/R9. The disease affects 4.5 people per million worldwide, with more than 5,000 people affected in the EU and the US. The EC decision was received through AskBio's EU-based subsidiary BrainVectis, following a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) AB-1003 is currently being investigated in a Phase 1/2 multicenter study in the US to evaluate its tolerability, safety, and efficacy in adult subjects with genotypically confirmed LGMD2I/R9. The EC for medicinal products grants orphan drug designation developed to treat a life-threatening disease that affects no more than five people in 10,000 in the EU, provided there is no other adequate treatment option or the medicine can bring significant value to those affected by a specific condition. This designation will provide special incentives in the EU, including eligibility for protocol assistance and possible reductions or exemptions in certain regulatory fees. Additionally, if the medicine is approved for marketing, this designation will provide ten years of marketing exclusivity. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles in the arms and legs. The severity, features of LGMD and age of onset vary among the many subtypes of the condition and are often inconsistent, even within the same family. Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Type 2I/R9 (LGMD2I/R9) is a form of LGMD caused by mutations in the FKRP gene. Signs and symptoms of LGMD2I/R9 often appear in late childhood and may include difficulty walking and running. The symptoms intensify with time, eventually leading to considerable disability, and afflicted persons typically require a wheelchair for movement roughly 23-26 years after beginning. Unfortunately, there is presently no treatment that slows the advancement of the disease, and management is based on the indications and symptoms that each individual exhibits. About Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) AskBio is a leading, fully integrated gene therapy company dedicated to developing innovative gene therapeutics and life-saving medicines. With operations worldwide, its pipeline includes gene therapy candidates for various diseases, including the central nervous system, neuromuscular, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. AskBio's global headquarters are located in RTP, NC, with European headquarters in Edinburgh. In addition, the company operates AAV research centers in Philadelphia, PA; Columbus, OH; and Paris, and modern clinical and commercial facilities in San Sebastian, Spain.

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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET

Curia Collaborates with Corning to Advance Biopharmaceutical Continuous-Flow Development and Manufacturing Programs

Globenewswire | March 24, 2023

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