FDA Authorizes Monoclonal Antibodies for Treatment of COVID19 .

PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ 

Most of the news on advances for Covid-19 tend to focus on vaccines, however treatments are just as important. While vaccines can stop people from contracting Covid and becoming seriously ill, treatments will still be needed for those who already have it. Having an effective treatment would, in essence, make coronavirus a milder disease. If it stopped people who were admitted to hospital from needing ventilation, then there would be less risk of intensive care units in hospitals being overwhelmed. An article in the BBC said that there are three broad approaches being investigated: Antiviral drugs that directly affect the coronavirus's ability to thrive inside the body; Drugs that calm the immune system (severe Covid-19 is caused by patients' immune systems overreacting and damaging the body); and Antibodies that can target the virus, taken from either survivors blood plasma or made in a lab. It is possible that different drugs will work better at different stages - such as antivirals at the beginning and immune drugs in late-stage diseases. Combinations of therapies are also being investigated.   Active Companies in the markets today include BetterLife Pharma Inc. (OTCQB: BETRF) (CSE: BETR),  COMPASS Pathways plc (NASDAQ: CMPS), MindMed (OTCQB: MMEDF) (NEO: MMED), CytoDyn Inc. (OTCQB: CYDY), Synairgen plc (OTCPK: SYGGF).

Recently, the FDA authorized the use of monoclonal antibodies for Covid-19 treatments. It said: "Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful pathogens such as viruses. Casirivimab and imdevimab are monoclonal antibodies that are specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, designed to block the virus' attachment and entry into human cells."  It continued: "The FDA remains committed to advancing the nation's public health during this unprecedented pandemic. Authorizing these monoclonal antibody therapies may help outpatients avoid hospitalization and alleviate the burden on our health care system," said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D. "As part of our Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, the FDA uses every possible pathway to make new treatments available to patients as quickly as possible while continuing to study the safety and effectiveness of these treatments." 

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