FDA authorizes Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody dose for injection

The new lowered 1,200 mg dose is available as another option for treatment when the previous 2,400 mg dose, which was injected into the vein for non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, was not practical and could lead to delays in treatment. The original authorization for the higher dose was granted in November 2020.

Competitors such as Eli Lilly, Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline have also been working on an antibody drug. According to Reuters, these antibody cocktails are "called monoclonal antibodies, which mimic natural antibodies the body produces to fight off the infection."

In the light of the new authorization, production has been ramped up at Regeneron. The company expects that, by the end of the second quarter of 2021, the drugmaker will have delivered 1 million doses or more to the US government.

There is also the possibility that the government will order up to another 1.25 million doses for use in the third quarter of 2021. Regeneron has also stated that another version of the cocktail is being developed and will be submitted for authorization soon. The new cocktail will be designed for preventative use.

In October, former President Donald Trump praised Regeneron, the drug he was prescribed, while recovering from COVID-19 at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Trump called the treatment "unbelievable" at the time, declaring that he'd like to see the same medication be free for the public. "They call them therapeutics, but for me it wasn't therapeutic, it just made me better, I call that a cure," he stated.